Guangdong Herbal Tea Attenuates Restraint Stress-provoked Liver and Kidney Damage in Mice via Activation of the Nrf2/ARE Signaling Pathway

Abstract

In the present work, we investigated the protective effects of Guangdong Herbal Tea (GHT) on liver and kidney damage induced by restraint stress in mice, and we explored the relationship between these effects and the Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway. Pretreatment with GHT prior to the exposure to restraint stress significantly prevented an increase in the serum levels of hepatic and kidney functional markers (ALT, AST and BUN), lipid peroxidation (MDA) and alleviated oxidative stress, as determined by glutathione content (GSH), Catalase (CAT) activity and Total Antioxidant Capacity (T-AOC) in the liver and kidney. Meanwhile, GHT-induced Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway activation was evidenced by Nrf2 translocation into the nucleus. Moreover, GHT up-regulated heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). Taken together, these results suggest that the protective effects of GHT against liver and kidney damage induced by restraint stress may be due to its antioxidant capacity and the up-regulation of HO-1 via the Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway.