Protective Effects of Total Saponins of Panax japonicus on Mice Liver Injury Induced by Isoniazid and Rifampicin

OBJECTIVE:To study the protective effects of total saponins of Panax japonicus on mice liver injury induced by isoniazid and rifampicin. METHODS:Mice liver injury model was induced by intragastric administration of isoniazid(INH 75 mg/ kg)and rifampicin(RFP 100 mg/kg). 40 male Bablc mice were randomly divided into normal control group(constant volume of normal saline),model group(constant volume of normal saline),silymarin group(50 mg/kg),total saponins of P. japonicus low-dose and high-dose groups(100,50 mg/kg). Model mice were given relevant medicines intragastrically once a day for consecutive 7 days. Then liver index,the activities of ALT and AST in serum,MDA content,the activities and mRNA expressions of SOD and GSH-PX in liver homogenate were investigated. General information and liver histopathology were observed. RESULTS:Compared with normal control group,liver index of mice,the activities of ALT and AST in liver tissue,the content of MDA in model group increased significantly,while the activities and mRNA expression of SOD2 and GSH-PX decreased significantly(P0.05 or P0.01). Compared with model group,liver index of mice,the activities of ALT and AST in liver tissue,the content of MDA in P. japonicus low-dose and high-dose groups decreased significantly,while the activities and mRNA expression of SOD and GSH-PX increased significantly(P0.05 or P0.01). Normal appearance of liver,clear structure of hepatic lobules,ordered hepatic cords, mild edema of hepatic cell,clear nuclear structure and normal sinus hepaticus were observed in normal control group. Obvious swelling of liver,crispy,blunt and thick liver edge,yellowish-brown granular appearance,diffuse edema of liver cell,loose endochylema,kytoplasm light in color,hepatocyte spotty necrosis and scatterredinflammatory cell infiltration were observed in model group. Liver and hepatic histopathology of mice were improved significantly in total saponins of P. japonicus high-dose and low-dose groups CONCLUSIONS:The protective effects of total saponins of P. japonicus on mice liver injury induced by isoniazid and rifampicin may be associated with inhibiting lipid peroxidation.