Protective Effect of Cornuside against Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Acute Hepatic Injury

This study elucidated the effects of cornuside on carbon tetrachloride (CCI4)-induced hepatotoxicity. Rats were treated intraperitoneally with 0.5 mL/kg of CCl4. Sixteen h after CCl4 treatment, the levels of serum aminotransferases, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and lipid peroxidation were significantly elevated, whereas the hepatic antioxidative enzyme activities were decreased. These changes were attenuatea by cornuside. Histological studies also indicated that cornuside inhibited CCl4-induced liver damage. Furthermore, the contents of hepatic nitrite, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) were elevated after CCl4 treatment, while cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) expression was suppressed. Cornuside treatment inhibited the formation of liver nitrite, and reduced the overexpression of iNOS and COX-2 proteins, but restored the liver CYP2E1 content as compared with the CCl4-treated rats. Our data indicate that cornuside protects the liver from CCl4-induced acute hepatotoxicity, perhaps due to its ability to restore the CYP2E1 function and suppress inflammatory responses, in combination with its capacity to reduce oxidative stress.