Ethanol extract from Portulaca oleracea L. attenuated acetaminophen-induced mice liver injury

Acetaminophen-induced liver injury represents the most frequent cause of drug-induced liver failure in the world. Portulaca oleracea L., a widely distributed weed, has been used as a folk medicine in many countries. Previously, we reported that the ethanol extracts of Portulaca oleracea L. (PO) exhibited significant anti-hypoxic activity. In the present study, we investigated the role of PO on acetaminophen (APAP) induced hepatotoxicity. The results demonstrated that PO was an effective anti-oxidative agent, which could, to some extent, reverse APAP-induced hepatotoxicity by regulating the reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the liver of mice. At the same time, PO treatment significantly decreased mice serum levels of IL-6 and TNF alpha and their mRNA expression in liver tissue IL-alpha and TNF alpha play an important role during APAP-induced liver injury. Furthermore, PO inhibited APAP and TNF alpha-induced activation of JNK, whose activation play an important effect during APAP induced liver injury. These findings suggested that administration of PO may be an effective strategy to prevent or treat liver injury induced by APAP.