Cyclopia intermedia E. Mey protects against ROS-induced liver injury in HepG2/C3A cells

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) represents a significant clinical problem for which no standard treatment currently exists. Most DILI mechanisms center on oxidative stress resulting from glutathione depletion, excessive ROS production, and subsequent cell death. Flavonoid-rich Cyclopia intermedia E. Mey (honeybush) is a commercially important African herbal tea and is traditionally promoted as a restorative treatment. Cytotoxicity evaluation of a fermented C. intermedia extract in C3A hepatocytes confirmed the absence of toxicity up to 200 mg/mL using quantitative fluorescence microscopy with Hoechst 33342-PI dual-labeling. DPPH, NO scavenging, and ORAC assays established a strong antioxidant potential. Antioxidant bioavailability, assessed using the CAPe assay, indicated significant uptake at 100 mg/mL (p < 0.005). C. intermedia extract decreased TBHP-induced oxidative stress in C3A cells and attenuated TBHP-induced changes in thiol group levels at 200 mg/mL (p < 0.005) as confirmed by CellROX* Orange and ThiolTrackerTM Violet staining, respectively. Apoptotic cell death was significantly reduced by the extract from 50 mg/mL (p < 0.005) as deter-mined by Annexin-V FITC staining. These results suggest that C. intermedia can function as a hepatoprotectant and has potential as a treatment against DILI.(c) 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of SAAB. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Automated summary

This study found that flavonoid-rich Cyclopia intermedia E. Mey (honeybush) has strong antioxidant potential and can function as a hepatoprotectant, suggesting its potential use in the treatment of drug-induced liver injury (DILI).