Sun F, Xie ML, Zhu LJ, Xue J, Gu ZL
Inhibitory effect of osthole on alcohol-induced fatty liver in mice.
[JOURNAL ARTICLE]
Dig Liver Dis 2008 Mar 11.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol is a major cause of fatty liver, the disease is a
spectrum that is initiated with steatosis, and without therapy it is
apt to develop inflammation, necrosis, fibrosis and finally cirrhosis.
There are currently no ideal pharmacological reagents that can prevent
or reverse this disease. Osthole is an active constituent isolated
from the fruit of Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cusson, a Chinese herbal
medicine, which has been used in clinics for many years. It has many
functions such as anti-inflammation, anti-osteoporosis and anti-tumor
and so on, but there is no report about treatment of alcoholic fatty
liver in mice.
AIM: To examine the inhibitory effect of osthole on alcohol-induced
fatty liver in mice and to investigate the potential mechanisms.
METHODS: A mouse model with alcoholic fatty liver was induced by
orally feeding 52% erguotou wine by gavage when they were
simultaneously treated with osthole 10, 20, 40mg/kg for 4 weeks.
Whereafter, the lipids in serum and hepatic tissue, the levels of
malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), reduced glutathione
hormone (GSH), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in hepatic
tissue, hepatic weight coefficient and its histological evaluation
were measured.
RESULTS: After treatment with osthole, the levels of serum total
cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), coefficient of hepatic weight,
and the hepatic tissue contents of TC and TG were significantly
decreased, the levels of MDA and TNF-alpha in liver were also
decreased, while the GSH in liver was increased. Importantly, the
histological evaluation of liver specimens demonstrated that osthole
dramatically decreased lipid accumulation.
CONCLUSION: Osthole could inhibit alcohol-induced fatty liver in mice,
and the mechanism might be associated with its anti-oxidation and
suppression of TNF-alpha production.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More from this journal
Digestive and liver disease : official journal of the Italian Society
of Gastroenterology and the Italian Association for the Study of the
Liver [Dig Liver Dis]