Antihyperuricemic effect of liquiritigenin in potassium oxonate-induced hyperuricemic rats

The aim is to investigate the anti-hyperuricemic and renal protective effects of liquiritigenin in potassium oxonate-induced hyperuricemic rats. Hyperuricemia in rats was induced were induced with potassium oxonate (250 mg/kg) intragastrically for 7 days, and liquiritigenin (20, 40 mg/kg) and allopurinol (5 mg/kg) were daily administrated to the rats orally 1 h after the potassium oxonate exposure. Liquiritigenin significantly reversed the elevated productions of uric acid in serum and urine and pro-inflammation cytokines in serum and kidney, which shown that liquiritigenin has renal protective effects. Histological study shows that liquiritigenin inhibited severe necrosis and inflammatory cell infiltration in potassium oxonate-treated rats. Furthermore, liquiritigenin mediated the activities of aquaporins 4 (AQP4), and regulated the activation of NF-kappa B p65 and the degradation of I kappa B alpha. Finally, significant increases of nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein adaptor (ASC) adaptor and cleaved caspased-1 were restored by liquiritigenin. Therefore, liquiritigenin might improve renal inflammation by suppressing renal AQP4/NF-kappa B/I kappa B alpha and NLRP3 inflammasome activation in hyperuricemic rats. (C) 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.