Background: We investigated the protective effect of silibinin on rat liver and kidney after hepatic inschemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury.
Methods and materials: Sixty three male Wistar-type rats (median age 13 weeks; average weight 314 g) were subjected to I/R injury of the liver. They were randomly divided into three groups: Sham (n = 7), Control (C, n = 28) and Silibinin (Si, n = 28). The last group received intravenously silibinin. The C and Si groups were each subdivided in four subgroups according to euthanasia times (i.e., 60, 120, 180, 240 min). We assessed expression of caspase-3 and TUNEL assay, and biochemical and histological parameters.
Results: At 240 min, expression of caspase-3 and TUNEL assay were statistically significantly lower in the Si compared to the C group for both liver and kidney. SGOT and SGPT were also statistically significantly lower in the Si than in the C group at all time points. Histological parameters of the liver were also improved in the Si group.
Conclusion: Silibinin was found to exhibit a protective effect on liver and kidney after hepatic I/R injury. The present results are encouraging for further studies and future clinical application.
Keywords: Caspase-3; Hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury; Kidney; Rat model; Silibinin; TUNEL.
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