Protection of Panax Japonicus extract against acute alcoholic liver injury in mice

AIM: To investigate the protective effects of Panax Japonicus extract(PJE)on ethanol-induced liver injury in mice.METHODS: KM mice were randomly divided into five groups as below: normal control group,model group,PJE high-dose group,PJE low-dose group and silybin group.The levels of serum alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate aminotransferase(AST),and triglyceride(TG)were assayed.The activity of liver Superoxide Dismutase(SOD),Glutathione Peroxidase(GSH-Px) and malondialdehyde(MDA)content were measured,and liver histopathology was also examined.Polymerase Chain Reaction(PCR) was applied to detect the mRNA expression of SOD1 and GPX1 gene.RESULTS:Compared with normal control group,the liver dysfunction and hepatic tissue damage as well as enhancement of lipid peroxidation in the model group,and the levels of ALT,AST,AST in serum were increased,the activity of SOD and GSH-Px in liver were decreased,and the content of MDA was increased,there were statistical difference(P0.05 or P0.01).Compared with the model group,the serum levels of ALT,AST and TG were decreased in the PJE high-dose group,PJE low-dose group and silybin group,and the activity of SOD and GSH-Px in liver were increased,the content of MDA was decreased;Moreover,the mRNA expressions of SOD1 and GPX1 in liver tissue increased marketly,there were statistical difference(P0.05 or P0.01).CONCLUSION: PJE has obvious protective effects on acute alcoholic liver injury in mice via attenuating hepatic lipid peroxidation,and the mechanism maybe up-regulate the mRNA expression of SOD1 and GPX1 gene.