Antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects of Acathopanax senticosus.
Acathopanax senticosus (Rupr. et Maxim.) Harms. is a popular folk medicine used as a nutrient for hepatitis and cancer in Taiwan. In this study, the antioxidant activity of the crude extract and the hepatoprotective activities on CCl(4)- or acetaminophen-induced toxicity in the rat liver were evaluated. Our results suggest that A. senticosus exerts some antioxidant effects. On a CCl(4)- or acetaminophen-intoxicated -model, the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were increased by CCl(4) or acetaminophen administration and reduced by treatment with the plant extract. Histological changes around the hepatic central vein were also recovered by treatments. However, treatments with larger doses of the crude extract of A. senticosus enhanced liver damage. This result suggests that even if A. senticosus had hepatoprotective activity in small doses, treatment with larger doses would possibly induce some cell toxicity.
Lin
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Graduate Institute of Natural Products, Kaohsiung Medical College, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Huang
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PC
D000082:Acetaminophen / Q000633:toxicity; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000187:drug effects; D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000187:drug effects; D002251:Carbon Tetrachloride / Q000633:toxicity; D056486:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000494:pharmacology; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013624:Taiwan; D014969:Xanthine Oxidase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors
D000975:Antioxidants; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D010936:Plant Extracts; D000082:Acetaminophen; D002251:Carbon Tetrachloride; D014969:Xanthine Oxidase; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase