Hepatoprotective and antioxidant effects of Myelophil on restraint stress-induced liver injury in BALB/c mice

Ethnopharmacologic relevance: Myelophil, an ethanol extract of Astragali Radix and Salviae Radix, has been used for patients with chronic fatigue-associated disorders in traditional Oriental clinics. Aim of the study: This study aimed to evaluate the pharmacologic effects of Myelophil using a restraint stress-induced liver injury model and to explore the mechanisms underlying these effects. Materials and methods: Distilled water or Myelophil (50 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg, or 200 mg/kg) was orally administered to 6-week-old BALB/c male mice once daily for 5 day. The mice were subjected to restraint stress for 6 h, and serum levels of aspartate and alanine aminotransferases (AST and ALT, respectively), total reactive oxygen species, and total antioxidant capacity were determined. Hepatic tissue levels of lipid peroxidation, antioxidant activity (as represented by superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione reductase activity), and interleukin-1 were also measured. Results: Restraint stress induced severe oxidative stress and hepatic injury, as evidenced by marked elevation of serum ALT and AST levels, increased levels of reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxidation activity, and depletion of antioxidant enzyme activities. Myelophil pretreatment significantly attenuated not only the elevation of serum ALT and AST but also the increase in reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxidation. It also restored a significant fraction of the catalase, glutathione reductase, and peroxidase activity in liver tissues. Myelophil pretreatment also partially normalized the levels of interleukin-1 beta gene and protein expression. Conclusions: These results suggest that Myelophil has potent protective effects against restraint stress-induced liver injury via antioxidant activities, and have relevance to the clinical applications of Myelophil in field of traditional herbal medicine. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ireland