College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
Biol Pharm Bull. 2012;35(5):796-800. doi: 10.1248/bpb.35.796.
Doxorubicin, a very potent and often used anti-cancer drug, is largely limited due to the dose-related toxic effects. The present study investigated whether berberine, a natural product alkaloid, can reduce the liver injury induced by doxorubicin. Mice of either gender were randomly divided into four groups: the control group, doxorubicin group, berberine group, and berberine+doxorubicin group. In the tests, body weight, general condition and mortality of the mice were observed, and serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate transaminase levels were determined to evaluate liver function. Furthermore, the liver was excised for determination of the weight changes, as well as histopathological analysis in the tissues. Mortality rate and significant decline in body weight, and increased plasma alanine aminotransferase and aspartate transaminase activities were observed in doxorubicin-treated mice. These changes were significantly prevented by pretreatment with berberine. Histopathological studies showed that doxorubicin caused structural injuries, such as vascular congestion, inflammatory cell infiltration, hepatocellular degeneration and necrosis, fibrosis in the liver. These histopathological changes were largely attenuated by berberine pretreatment. These findings indicate that berberine has the hepatoprotective effect on doxorubicin-induced liver injury in mice.
多柔比星是一种非常有效且常用的抗癌药物，但由于其剂量相关的毒性作用，其应用受到了很大限制。本研究旨在探讨小檗碱（一种天然产物生物碱）是否可以减轻多柔比星引起的肝损伤。雄性和雌性小鼠被随机分为四组：对照组、多柔比星组、小檗碱组和小檗碱+多柔比星组。在测试中，观察了小鼠的体重、一般状况和死亡率，并测定了血清丙氨酸氨基转移酶和天冬氨酸氨基转移酶水平，以评估肝功能。此外，还切除了肝脏，以确定肝脏重量变化以及组织中的组织病理学分析。多柔比星处理的小鼠死亡率和体重显著下降，血浆丙氨酸氨基转移酶和天冬氨酸氨基转移酶活性升高。用小檗碱预处理可显著预防这些变化。组织病理学研究表明，多柔比星引起了肝血管充血、炎症细胞浸润、肝细胞变性和坏死、纤维化等结构损伤。小檗碱预处理可明显减轻这些组织病理学改变。这些发现表明，小檗碱对多柔比星诱导的小鼠肝损伤具有保护作用。
