Protective Effect of Extract from Panax ginsen and Hovenia dulcis Thunb Against Alcohol-induced Liver Injury in Mice

The potential protective effects of water extract from Panax ginseng and Hovenia dulcis Thunb (PHE) on mice with alcohol-induced liver injury were evaluated in this paper. METHODS:PHE, which obtained by different compatibility ratio of Panax ginseng and Hovenia dulcis Thunb, were gavaged to mice with at a dose of 100 mg/kg for 3 d. Acute liver injury was established by gavage of 50% ethanol. After oral administration of content of alcohol for 12 h, the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoproteins (HDL-C) and low-density (LDL-C) in serum, as well as the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in liver were measured. The levels of TNF-α and IL-1β in the serum were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the mRNA expressions of TNF-α and IL-1β in liver tissure were detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS:As Compared with the model group, PHE could significantly reduce the activities of AST and ALT in serum. PHE could significantly inhibit the imbalance of lipid metabolism by reducing the content of serum TG and LDL-C (p<0.05) and increasing the level of HDL-C (p<0.05). Meanwhile, PHE could also improve antioxidant capability against liver injury by enhancing the activities of SOD and GSH-Px (p<0.05), increasing the level of GSH and decreasing the content of MDA in liver tissue (p<0.05). PHE adjusted the inflammatory response through decreasing the level of TNF-α and IL-1β (p<0.05). Conclusion:PHE indicated obvious protective effect on mice with acute alcohol-induced liver injury in mice.