Hepatoprotective effect of gastrodin against alcohol-induced liver injury in mice

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is a common and serious threat to human health worldwide. In this study, the hepatoprotective effect of gastrodin against alcohol-induced liver injury in mice was examined. Mice with alcohol-induced hepatotoxicity were treated intragastrically with gastrodin (50, 80, or 100 mg/kg). The mice treated with gastrodin experienced better outcomes than those who received only one dose of alcohol (50%, 10 mL/kg b.w.). Gastrodin treatment reduced the activities of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), decreased hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and increased hepatic superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and catalase (CAT) activities in a dose-dependent manner. Gastrodin also alleviated histopathological changes induced by alcohol. Gastrodin protected against alcohol-induced increases in expression levels of the cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) and mRNA levels of chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 1 (CXCL-1), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4), and activator of transcription 3 (STAT-3). Moreover, gastrodin-increased nuclear transcription factor 2 (Nrf2) translocates to the nucleus and enhanced the activity of anti-oxidant enzymes, and could thereby ameliorate alcohol-induced liver injury in mice. This study demonstrated that gastrodin may be an effective therapeutic agent against alcohol-induced liver injury.