Context Ligularia fischeri (Ledebour) Turcz. (Compositae) has been used as a leafy vegetable and in traditional medicine to treat hepatic disorder in East Asia. Objective The present study explores the antioxidant activity of LF aqueous extract on EtOH-induced oxidative stress accompanied by hepatotoxicity both in vitro and in vivo. Materials and methods In vitro study using the mouse liver NCTC-1469 cell line was conducted to estimate the cytotoxicity as well as the inhibitory effect of LF extract against alcohol-treated cell damage. In vivo study used an alcohol-fed Wister rat model orally administered EtOH (3.95 g/kg of body weight/d) with or without LF extract (100 or 200 mg/kg body weight) for 6 weeks. Serum and liver tissue were collected to evaluate hepatic injury and antioxidant-related enzyme activity. Results The EC50 value for the DPPH radical scavenging capacity of LF extract was 451.5 μg/mL, whereas the IC50 value of LF extract in terms of EtOH-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was 98.3 μg/mL without cell cytotoxicity. LF extract (200 mg/kg body weight) significantly reduced the triglyceride content of serum (33%) as well as hepatic lipid peroxidation (36%), whereas SOD activity was elevated three-fold. LF extract suppressed expression of CYP2E1 and TNF-α, and attenuated alcohol-induced abnormal morphological changes. Discussion and conclusion LF extract attenuated liver damage induced by alcoholic oxidative stress through inhibition of ROS generation, down-regulation of CYP2E1, and activation of hepatic antioxidative enzymes. Homeostasis of the antioxidative defence system in the liver by LF extract mitigated hepatic disorder following chronic alcohol intake.
Keywords: Alcohol-fed rat model; alcoholic liver disease; antioxidative enzyme; hepatoprotection; reactive oxygen species.