Aim: Ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury (IRI) in liver transplant patients may negatively affect graft function. Although β-glucan protects kidneys against IRI, its effect on the liver is unknown. This study sought to investigate β-glucan effects on oxidative damage to the liver after IRI in rats.
Materials and methods: Thirty-two rats were randomly divided into 4 experimental groups n = 8 in each group: sham, IR, β-glucan and IR + β-glucan. β-Glucan (50 mg.kg(-1) . day(-1)) was orally administered for 10 days to rats in the β-glucan and IR + β-glucan groups. The rats in the IR and IR + β-glucan groups were subjected to ischemia and reperfusion (IR) for 60 minutes each. All rats were killed on day 11 to evaluate histological changes as well as tissue levels of oxidants and antioxidants.
Results: Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were significantly higher in the IR than the sham group (P = .001). MDA level was significantly higher in the IR group than in the IR + β-glucan group (P = .001). The levels of tissue antioxidant markers (superoxide dismutase [SOD], glutathione-peroxidase [GPx], and catalase [CAT]) were significantly lower in the IR group than in the sham group (P < .05). SOD and GPx levels did not differ significantly between the IR and IR + β-glucan groups. CAT activity was significantly higher in the IR than the IR + β-glucan group (P = .001). Histological tissue damage was reduced in the IR + β-glucan than the IR group.
Conclusion: Liver IRI is an inevitable problem during liver surgery. Our results suggested that β-glucan pretreatment suppressed oxidative stress and increased antioxidant levels in an rat model of liver IRI.
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