Antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects of Schisandra chinensis pollen extract on CCl4-induced acute liver damage in mice

The aim of the present study was to investigate the antioxidant and hepatotective effects of Schisandra chinensis pollen extract (SCPE) on CCl4-induced acute liver damage in mice. Total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, individual phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, chelating activity, and reducing power assay) were determined. In vivo study, SCPE (10, 20 and 40 g/kg) administered daily orally for 42 days prior to CCl4-intoxicated. Our results showed that SCPE had high total phenolic content (53.74 +/- 1.21 mg GAE/g), total flavonoid content (38.29 +/- 0.91 mg Rutin/g), quercetin and hesperetin may be the major contributor to strong antioxidant activities. Moreover, SCPE significantly prevented the increase in serum ALT and AST level in acute liver damage induced by CCl4, decreased the extent of malondialdehyde (MDA) formation in liver and elevated the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in liver. The results indicated that SCPE has strong antioxidant activities and significant protective effect against acute hepatotoxicity induced by CCl4, and have been supported by the evaluation of liver histopathology in mice. The hepatoprotective effect may be related to its free radical scavenging effect, increasing antioxidant activity and inhibiting lipid peroxidation. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.