Abstract
Hepatoprotective agents could prevent tissue damage and reduce morbidity and mortality rates; such agents may include folkloric or alternative treatments. The present study evaluated the protective effects of the flavonoid-rich fraction from rhizomes of Smilax glabra Roxb. (SGF) on carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Sprague-Dawley male rats were orally treated with SGF daily and received CCl4 intraperitoneally twice a week for 4 weeks. Our results showed that SGF at doses of 100, 300 and 500 mg/kg significantly reduced the elevated activities of serum aminotransferases (ALT and AST), alkaline phosphatase and lactate dehydrogenase and the level of hepatic thiobarbituric acid–reactive substances compared to the CCl4-treated group. Moreover, SGF treatment was also found to significantly increase the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, glutathione-S-transferase and glutathione compared with CCl4-induced intoxicated liver. Histopathologic examination revealed that CCl4-induced hepatic damage was markedly reversed by SGF. The results suggest that SGF has hepatoprotective and antioxidant properties in CCl4-induced liver injury in rats.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 81102861), the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Y2110031) and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grants 2012T50562, 20110491827).
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Xia, D., Fan, Y., Zhang, P. et al. Protective Effects of the Flavonoid-Rich Fraction from Rhizomes of Smilax glabra Roxb. on Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Rats. J Membrane Biol 246, 479–485 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00232-013-9560-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00232-013-9560-9