Hepatoprotective Mechanisms of Taxifolin on Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Acute Liver Injury in Mice

Objective: To investigate the hepatoprotective mechanisms of taxifolin in mice with acute liver injury induced by CCl4. Methods: ICR (Institute of Cancer research) mice were orally pretreated using taxifolin for 7 consecutive days and were then given single intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of 0.2% CCl4 (10 mL/kg body weight, i.p.). Liver injury was then determined using assays of serum alanine aminotransferase (sALT) and serum aspartate aminotransferase (sAST). Further, to investigate the hepatoprotective mechanisms of taxifolin, we determined malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione reductase (GRd) activities. Results: CCl4-induced liver injury led to significant increases in sALT and sAST activities, and these increases were limited by taxifolin and silymarin (Sily) pretreatments. Histological analyses also indicated that taxifolin and Sily decreased the range of liver lesions in CCl4-treated mice and vacuole formation, neutrophil infiltration, and necrosis were visibly reduced. In addition, SOD, GPx, and GRd activities were increased and MDA levels were decreased after taxifolin and Sily treatments. Conclusion: The hepatoprotective mechanisms of taxifolin and Sily are related to decreases in MDA levels presumably due to increased antioxidant enzyme activities. These outcomes suggest that taxifolin mitigates acute liver injury resulted from CCl4 in mice, demonstrating the hepatoprotective effects of taxifolin.