Hepatoprotective influence of quercetin and ellagic acid on thioacetamide-induced hepatotoxicity in rats

Abstract

Despite all the studies performed to date, therapy choices for liver injuries are very few. Therefore, the search for a new treatment that could safely and effectively block or reverse liver injuries remains a challenge. Quercetin (QR) and ellagic acid (EA) had potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. The current study aimed at evaluating the potential hepatoprotective influence of QR and EA against thioacetamide (TAA)-induced liver toxicity in rats and the underlying mechanism using silymarin as a reference drug. Fifty mature male rats were orally treated daily with EA and QR in separate groups for 45 consecutive days, and then were injected with TAA twice with 24 h intervals in the last 2 days of the experiment. Administration of TAA resulted in marked elevation of liver indices, alteration in oxidative stress parameters, and significant elevation in expression level of fibrosis-related genes (MMP9 and MMP2). Administration of QR and EA significantly attenuated the hepatic toxicity through reduction of liver biomarkers, improving the redox status of the tissue, as well as hampering the expression level of fibrosis-related genes. In this study, QR and EA were proved to attenuate the hepatotoxicity through their antioxidant, metal-chelating capacity, and anti-inflammatory effects.

Antioxidant, hepatoprotective, genoprotective, and cytoprotective effects of quercetin in a murine model of arthritis

“…All dosages of quercetin decreased AST levels in the serum of arthritic rats, demonstrating the hepatoprotective potential effect of this flavonoid. This effect has been verified in other studies, and it is suggested to be due to the antioxidant capacity of quercetin through the elimination of reactive oxygen species, inhibition of lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase, and stabilization of cell membranes …”

“…All dosages of quercetin decreased AST levels in the serum of arthritic rats, demonstrating the hepatoprotective potential effect of this flavonoid. This effect has been verified in other studies, [50][51][52] and it is suggested to be due to the antioxidant capacity of quercetin through the elimination of reactive oxygen species, 53,54 inhibition of lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase, and stabilization of cell membranes. 53,55,56 In the present study, we observed increased ROS and TBARS levels in the untreated arthritic group, which may be owing to the production of ROS as a result of inflammation, leading to the destruction of cartilage and bone, neutrophil degranulation, and the release of various potentially harmful enzymes.…”

Antiinflammatory and anti‐cancer activities of pomegranate and its constituent, ellagic acid: Evidence from cellular, animal, and clinical studies

“…Furthermore, EA decreased the MDA level while increased the GPx activity in the liver tissue. They suggested that EA improves hepato-toxicity through the antioxidant effects (Afifi, Ibrahim, & Galal, 2018).…”

The Effect of Aflatoxin B1 Contamination on the Antioxidant Status of Broilers’ Liver and Breast Muscle

“…Changes in the concentration of the product were assessed by measuring the fluorescence level during the elongation phase of PCR. The real-time PCR conditions were performed as follows: 95 °C for 5 min (initial denaturation) and then 40 cycles at 95 °C for 15 s, 60 °C for 20 s, and 72 °C for 15 s. After the final cycle, the melting curve analysis of all samples was performed through one cycle of 95 °C for 15 s, 58 °C for 15 s, and 95 °C for 15 s. B-actin is used as internal control (Afifi et al, 2018). Negative controls that were free of the template were included in each experiment.…”