Hepatoprotective effect of Alhagi sparsifolia against Alcoholic Liver injury in mice

Overconsumption of alcohol leads to alcoholic liver disease (ALD). Natural compounds have been investigated previously for their hepatoprotective activities against liver injury. This study investigated the protective effect of Alhagi sparsifolia on ALD. Alcohol was administered to mice for three consecutive days; either alone or in combination with Alhagi sparsifolia extract (150, 300, 600 mg/kg). Serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine transaminase as biomarkers of liver injury, the content of malonaldehyde, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and glutathione which indicated the redox status of liver and the antioxidant enzyme activity of super oxide dismutase were detected, respectively. Moreover, the expression of protein cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) the key enzyme of alcohol metabolism, and also tested by western blot experiment. Subsequently, the mRNA levels of inflammatory factors including TNF- α and TLR4 was determined real-time PCR. Results showed that Alhagi sparsifolia significantly alleviated alcohol-induced liver injury by reducing serum ALT and AST, inhibiting MDA and H2O2 content, increasing SOD, and GSH level in the liver (P< 0.05). In addition, the Alhagi sparsifolia treatment inhibited the expression of CYP2E1 (P< 0.05). The results suggest that Alhagi sparsifolia could be a promising natural substance for ameliorating acute alcohol-induced oxidative stress and hepatic injury.

过量饮酒可引发酒精性肝病（alcoholic liver disease, ALD）。此前已有研究针对天然化合物对抗肝损伤的保肝活性展开探索。本研究探讨了骆驼刺（Alhagi sparsifolia）对酒精性肝病的保护作用。本实验将酒精单独或与不同剂量的骆驼刺提取物（150、300、600 mg/kg）联合给予小鼠，连续给药三天。分别检测了作为肝损伤生物标志物的血清天冬氨酸氨基转移酶（aspartate aminotransferase, AST）与丙氨酸氨基转移酶（alanine transaminase, ALT）水平、反映肝脏氧化还原状态的丙二醛（malonaldehyde, MDA）、过氧化氢（hydrogen peroxide, H₂O₂）及谷胱甘肽（glutathione, GSH）含量，以及超氧化物歧化酶（superoxide dismutase, SOD）的抗氧化酶活性。此外，本实验通过蛋白质印迹（western blot）实验检测了酒精代谢关键酶细胞色素P450 2E1（cytochrome P450 2E1, CYP2E1）的蛋白表达水平。随后，采用实时荧光定量PCR（real-time PCR）检测了肿瘤坏死因子-α（tumor necrosis factor-α, TNF-α）与Toll样受体4（Toll-like receptor 4, TLR4）等炎症因子的mRNA表达水平。实验结果显示，骆驼刺可通过降低血清ALT与AST水平、抑制肝脏MDA及H₂O₂含量、提升SOD与GSH水平，显著缓解酒精诱导的肝损伤（P<0.05）。此外，骆驼刺干预还可抑制CYP2E1的表达（P<0.05）。上述结果表明，骆驼刺有望成为一种极具潜力的天然活性物质，用于改善急性酒精诱导的氧化应激与肝损伤。