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Antioxidative and hepatoprotective effects of magnolol on acetaminophen-induced liver damage in rats

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Abstract

Acute liver failure (ALF), an often fatal condition characterized by massive hepatocyte necrosis, is frequently caused by drug poisoning, particularly with acetaminophen (N-acetyl-p-aminophenol/APAP). Hepatocyte necrosis is consecutive to glutathione (GSH) depletion and mitochondrial damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction. Magnolol, one major phenolic constituent of Magnolia officinalis, have been known to exhibit potent antioxidative activity. In this study, the anti-hepatotoxic activity of magnolol on APAP-induced toxicity in the Sprague-Dawley rat liver was examined. After evaluating the changes of several biochemical parameters in serum, the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were elevated by APAP (500 mg/kg) intraperitoneal administration (8 and 24 h) and reduced by treatment with magnolol (0.5 h after APAP administration; 0.01, 0.1, and 1 μg/kg). Histological changes around the hepatic central vein, lipid peroxidation (thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance/TBARS), and GSH depletion in liver tissue induced by APAP were also recovered by magnolol treatment. The data show that oxidative stress followed by lipid peroxidation may play a very important role in the pathogenesis of APAP-induced hepatic injury; treatment with lipid-soluble antioxidant, magnolol, exerts anti-hepatotoxic activity. Our study points out the potential interest of magnolol in the treatment of toxic ALF.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Traditional Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Yi-Tsau Huang, Jen-Hwey Chiu & Yen-Yi Ho

  2. National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan

    Yen-Yi Ho

  3. Second College of Clinical Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China

    Yen-Yi Ho

  4. Department of Pathology, Show Chwan Memorial Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan

    Ming-Tsung Lai

  5. Division of Anesthesiology and Anesthetics and Toxicology Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

    Feng-Yen Lin

  6. Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Feng-Yen Lin

  7. Faculty of Respiratory Therapy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Po-Len Liu

  8. Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan

    Yung-Hsiang Chen, Yi-Chun Chang & Kee-Ming Man

  9. Department of Anesthesiology, Tungs’ Taichung MetroHarbor Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan

    Kee-Ming Man

  10. Taipei Medical University-Municipal Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei, 11696, Taiwan

    Chuang-Ye Hong

  11. Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, 40402, Taiwan

    Yung-Hsiang Chen & Chuang-Ye Hong

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  1. Yung-Hsiang Chen
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Correspondence to Yung-Hsiang Chen or Chuang-Ye Hong.

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Yen-Yi Ho and Ming-Tsung Lai contributed equally to this work.

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Chen, YH., Lin, FY., Liu, PL. et al. Antioxidative and hepatoprotective effects of magnolol on acetaminophen-induced liver damage in rats. Arch. Pharm. Res. 32, 221–228 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12272-009-1139-8

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