College of Chemical Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China.
College of Life and Environmental Science, Hunan University of Arts and Science, Changde 415000, China.
Nutrients. 2017 Sep 11;9(9):1000. doi: 10.3390/nu9091000.
Oxidative stress and inflammation are well-documented pathological factors in alcoholic liver disease (ALD). Artichoke ( L.) is a healthy food and folk medicine with anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties. This study aimed to evaluate the preventive effects of ethanolic extract from artichoke against acute alcohol-induced liver injury in mice. Male Institute of Cancer Research mice were treated with an ethanolic extract of artichoke (0.4, 0.8, and 1.6 g/kg body weight) by gavage once daily. Up to 40% alcohol (12 mL/kg body weight) was administered orally 1 h after artichoke treatment. All mice were fed for 10 consecutive days. Results showed that artichoke extract significantly prevented elevated levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, triglyceride, total cholesterol, and malondialdehyde. Meanwhile, the decreased levels of superoxide dismutase and glutathione were elevated by artichoke administration. Histopathological examination showed that artichoke attenuated degeneration, inflammatory infiltration and necrosis of hepatocytes. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that expression levels of toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) in liver tissues were significantly suppressed by artichoke treatment. Results obtained demonstrated that artichoke extract exhibited significant preventive protective effect against acute alcohol-induced liver injury. This finding is mainly attributed to its ability to attenuate oxidative stress and suppress the TLR4/NF-κB inflammatory pathway. To the best of our knowledge, the underlying mechanisms of artichoke on acute ALD have been rarely reported.
氧化应激和炎症是酒精性肝病 (ALD) 的明确病理因素。朝鲜蓟 ( L.) 是一种具有抗氧化和抗炎特性的健康食品和民间药物。本研究旨在评估朝鲜蓟的乙醇提取物对小鼠急性酒精性肝损伤的预防作用。雄性癌症研究所小鼠通过灌胃每天一次用朝鲜蓟 (0.4、0.8 和 1.6 g/kg 体重) 的乙醇提取物治疗。在朝鲜蓟处理后 1 小时内给予高达 40%的酒精 (12 mL/kg 体重)。所有小鼠连续喂养 10 天。结果表明，朝鲜蓟提取物可显著预防天冬氨酸转氨酶、丙氨酸转氨酶、甘油三酯、总胆固醇和丙二醛水平升高。同时，朝鲜蓟给药可提高超氧化物歧化酶和谷胱甘肽的降低水平。组织病理学检查显示，朝鲜蓟减轻了肝细胞变性、炎症浸润和坏死。免疫组织化学分析显示，朝鲜蓟处理可显著抑制肝组织中 Toll 样受体 (TLR) 4 和核因子-κB (NF-κB) 的表达水平。结果表明，朝鲜蓟提取物对急性酒精性肝损伤具有显著的预防保护作用。这一发现主要归因于其减轻氧化应激和抑制 TLR4/NF-κB 炎症途径的能力。据我们所知，朝鲜蓟对急性 ALD 的作用机制很少有报道。
