Amelioration of carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic injury by emulsified Antrodia extract

Wei-Chih Chang; Chang-Tsen Hung; Yuh-Shuen Chen; Chih-Chi Hsueh; Chien-Wei Hou; Horng-Liang Lay

doi:10.22038/ijbms.2018.21545.5554

Amelioration of carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic injury by emulsified Antrodia extract

Iran J Basic Med Sci. 2018 Mar;21(3):230-235. doi: 10.22038/ijbms.2018.21545.5554.

Authors

Wei-Chih Chang¹, Chang-Tsen Hung², Yuh-Shuen Chen³, Chih-Chi Hsueh⁴, Chien-Wei Hou⁴, Horng-Liang Lay⁵

Affiliations

¹ Graduate Institute of Bioresources, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, Taiwan.
² Department of Health and Leisure Management, Yuanpei University of Medical Technology, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
³ Department of Food Science and Technology, Hungkuang University, Taichung, Taiwan.
⁴ Department of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Technology, Yuanpei University of Medical Technology, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Plant Industry, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, Taiwan.

Abstract

Objectives: Antrodia cinnamomea (AC) is found with anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory biological activities. In this study, we investigated the anti-hepatitis effect of the emulsified AC extract from RO water or supercritical fluid CO₂ with ethanol co-solvent extract methods of AC preparations.

Materials and methods: Five groups of eight to ten weeks male rats with a count of ten for each group were studied to evaluate the protection of two kinds of AC extract from hepatic injury. Acute liver injury of rats was induced by injecting 40% carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) 1 mg/kg intraperitoneally. Positive and negative control groups rats were perfused with CCl₄ or isotonic saline, respectively. Experimental groups received oral administration once/day of AC preparations before CCl₄ treatment: water AC extract (WAE group), or emulsified AC extract from supercritical fluid extraction (EAE group) for 5 days, and sacrificed on the 6^th day and the blood and liver samples were collected under chloral hydrate anesthesia. The anti-inflammatory, antioxidant markers, and relevant signaling pathways were measured (AST, ALT, ROS, IL-1, IL-6, NO, and COX-2, MAPKs, and caspase-3).

Results: EAE at 50 mg/kg significantly decreased the serum AST, ALT, IL-1, IL-6, NO, and ROS levels. Both extracts reduced the activation of p-ERK in the liver samples, but EAE inhibited COX-2 and caspase-3 protein expression better than WAE. The EAE ameliorated CCl₄-induced hepatic injury significantly; as compared with WAE and the positive control.

Conclusion: The hepatoprotection of EAE could be attributed to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of Antrodia.

Keywords: Anti-inflammatory; Antioxidant; Antrodia cinnamomea; Carbon tetrachloride; Hepatoprotection; MAPKs.