No abstract

Polygoni Multiflori Radix (PMR) has been commonly used as a tonic in China for centuries. PMR-associated hepatotoxicity has been drawing increasingly more attention in recent years in parallel with its wide utilization. Anthraquinones (AQs) are recognized as the main hepatotoxic components in PMR. However, the exact underlying mechanism of AQs poisoning is still not fully understood. Herein, we proposed a hypothesis that metabolic activation of AQs such as emodin was involved in PMRinduced liver injury, AQs followed to generate the electrophilic reactive metabolites and subsequently formed covalent adduct with cellular nucleophiles in the liver to exert hepatotoxicity. In the present study, the link of cytotoxicity of PMR in primary human hepatocytes and the depletion of glutathione (GSH) was investigated by MTT assay and UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS analysis. The results showed that PMR depleted GSH and therefore induced cytotoxicity. Then, emodin-GSH adduct was identified in bile of liver injured rats after intragastric administration of PMR or emodin with the aid of UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS method. Our findings not only provided confirmative evidence that the mechanism of hepatotoxicity induced by AQs in PMR involved key metabolic steps, but also revealed that emodin-GSH adduct had potential to be further developed as a sensitive and traceable biomarker for the assessment of PMR-induced liver injury.

This work demonstrated that the crude Bistort Rhizoma (BR) extracts exhibit an antioxidant effectiveness, which significantly correlated with the content of TP, showing that TP may be responsible for the antioxidant activity of BR extract.

No abstract

1,3,8-Trihydroxy-6-methylanthraquinone (emodin), a widely existing natural product in herbal medicines, has been reported to be hepatotoxic, but the exact underlying mechanism is still not fully understood. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the role of CYP3A and glutathione (GSH) in emodin-induced liver injury. Primary human hepatocytes were exposed to emodin with and without addition of CYP3A inducer/inhibitor and GSH synthesis inhibitor. It was found that emodin-mediated cytotoxicity increased when CYP3A was activated and GSH was depleted. Hepatotoxicity induced by emodin in rats by activation/inhibition of CYP3A and depletion of GSH was further investigated. Administration of emodin in combination with l-buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) or dexamethasone (DEX) resulted in aggravated liver injury, whereas pretreatment with ketoconazole (KTZ) suppressed the side effects caused by emodin. In addition, plasma exposure of emodin and its glucuronide metabolite were measured by ultraperformance liquid chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Emodin and its glucuronide were lower in BSO-, DEX-, and KTZ- co-treated rats compared with those administered with emodin alone. In conclusion, these mentioned results suggested that CYP3A induction and GSH depletion might be involved in hepatotoxicity induced by emodin. This study may help to understand the risk factors and the mechanism of hepatotoxicity of emodin in humans.