Prevention of hepatic injury by a traditional Chinese formulation, BJ-JN, in mice treated with Bacille-Calmette-Guérin and lipopolysaccharide.

The hepatoprotective effects of BJ-JN (a traditional Chinese formulation) were evaluated in Bacille-Calmette-Guérin and lipopolysaccharide (BCG/LPS)-induced immunological liver injury (ILI) in mice. BJ-JN (0.75, 1.5, 3 g/kg) was administered via gavage daily for 10 days. Liver index (liver weight/body weight), serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), hepatic nitric oxide (NO), malondialdehyde (MDA) content, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, splenocyte proliferation, production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) by peritoneal macrophages, and histopathologic changes of the liver were evaluated following the 10 days treatment. BJ-JN (0.75, 1.5, 3 g/kg) effectively reduced the BCG/LPS-induced elevated liver index, serum ALT levels, hepatic NO and MDA content, and restored hepatic SOD activity in ILI mice. BJ-JN treatment also alleviated diminished splenocyte proliferation induced by concanavalin A (ConA) and repressed abnormally high levels of TNF-alpha and IL-1 from peritoneal macrophages. The histopathological analysis suggested that BJ-JN reduced the degree of liver injury of ILI mice. These results suggest that BJ-JN has a protective and therapeutic effect on ILI mice, which might be associated with its antioxidant properties, ability to reduce NO production and immunoregulatory function.