The Protective Effects of Zornia diphylla (L.) Pers. Against Acute Liver Injury Induced by Carbon Tetrachloride in Mice

Frontiers in Pharmacology

Su-Zhi Xie¹  Xiang-Jun Kong²  Zheng Wang³  Da-Wei Lu⁴  Lin Zhu⁴  Shu-Qiong Huang⁴  Xiang-Yang Zhai⁴  Yun-Hong Li⁴  Yu-Mei Zhang⁵  Sheng-Yan Xi⁵  Shan-Gang Zhang⁵  Ying-Kun Qiu⁶ 

[1] Department of Pharmacy, Xiamen Haicang Hospital, Xiamen, China;Department of Pharmacy, Xiang’an Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen, China;Department of Pharmacy, Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Xiamen University, Xiamen, China;Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China;Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xiang’an Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen, China;School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China;

关键词: Zornia diphyllxa (L.) Pers.;    acute liver injury (ALI);    traditional Chinese medicine;    antioxidant enzymes;    inflammatory signaling pathway;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fphar.2021.764282

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Background:Zornia diphylla (L.) Pers. (ZDP) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine that has been used for several decades to treat patients with liver diseases. Whether ZDP is best administered as a single agent or adjunctive therapy has yet to be determined as does the mechanism whereby it exerts its effects on antagonizing acute liver injury (ALI).Aim of the study: To investigate the protective effects of ZDP on ALI induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and the potential underlying mechanisms.Materials and Methods: Sixty adult mice were randomized into six study groups (n = 10/group). Three groups were treated with different concentrations of ZDP (2.5, 1.25, 0.625 g/kg), one with bifendate (0.0075 g/kg) alone (positive control) and one with physiologic saline (normal, negative control). All groups were treated for 14 days. Two hours after the last administration, the normal group received an intraperitoneal injection of peanut oil, and the other five groups received an intraperitoneal injection of an equal dose of CCl4 peanut oil solution. At 24 h, the liver index, histology and serum or tissue levels and/or protein expression of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total bilirubin (TBIL), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase (CAT), glutathione (GSH), Akt, phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt), nuclear factor kappa B p65 (NF-κB p65), inhibitor of NF-κB α (IκB-α), interleukin-1 β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), E-cadherin and vimentin were determined.Results: Compared to the model controls, the degree of inflammatory cell infiltration and hepatocyte injury of liver tissue was relieved in the bifendate and three ZDP groups; liver index in the ZDP (2.5, 1.25 g/kg) groups and serum liver function indices in the ZDP (2.5, 1.25 and 0.625 g/kg) groups were decreased; antioxidants SOD, CAT and GSH in liver tissue were increased but the lipid peroxidation index MDA was decreased; protein expression of inflammatory cytokines Akt, p-Akt, NF-κB p65, IκB-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in the liver was ameliorated, and E-cadherin expression was increased. The results of liver histopathology also showed that ZDP had a significant effect on ALI.Conclusion: ZDP has obvious protective effects on CCl4-induced ALI as a single therapy and appears to act by inhibiting oxidation, reducing the release of inflammatory factors and promoting hepatocyte repair.

【 授权许可】

Unknown