Eltahir Heba M, Fawzy Michael A, Mohamed Elhussein M, Alrehany Mahmoud A, Shehata Ahmed M, Abouzied Mekky M
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Medina 11564, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Minya University, Minya 61511, Egypt.
Exp Ther Med. 2020 Feb;19(2):1313-1321. doi: 10.3892/etm.2019.8353. Epub 2019 Dec 19.
The present study aims to investigate the potential antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects of Boswellia serrate (BS) gum resin against carbon tetrachloride (CCl)-induced liver damage. Four groups consisting of eight rats each were designated: Group I, normal healthy control; group II, CCl-induced liver fibrosis; group III, CCl-induced liver fibrosis followed by BS treatment daily for two weeks; and group IV, CCl-induced liver fibrosis followed by silymarin treatment daily for two weeks. Expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), interleukin-6 (IL-6), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) were assessed, in addition to histopathological and fibrotic changes in liver tissues isolated from the rats. BS significantly ameliorated CCl-induced increases in serum aspartate (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) levels, reduced lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities in addition to restoring total bilirubin, triglyceride and albumin levels. BS treatment also alleviated oxidative stress and improved total antioxidant capacity in the liver, and reduced the expression of TNF-α, NF-κB, TGF-β, IL-6 and COX-2. On a histopathological level, BS treatment also exhibited antifibrotic activity. In conclusion, these findings suggest that BS contains potentially hepatoprotective effects against CCl4-induced liver injury via its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic characteristics.
本研究旨在探讨锯叶乳香(BS)胶树脂对四氯化碳(CCl)诱导的肝损伤的潜在抗氧化、抗炎和抗纤维化作用。将四组大鼠,每组八只,分别标记为:第一组,正常健康对照组;第二组,CCl诱导的肝纤维化组;第三组,CCl诱导的肝纤维化组,随后每天给予BS治疗两周;第四组,CCl诱导的肝纤维化组,随后每天给予水飞蓟宾治疗两周。除了评估从大鼠分离的肝组织的组织病理学和纤维化变化外,还评估了肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)、核因子κB(NF-κB)、白细胞介素-6(IL-6)、转化生长因子-β(TGF-β)和环氧化酶-2(COX-2)的表达。BS显著改善了CCl诱导的血清天冬氨酸(AST)和丙氨酸转氨酶(ALT)水平的升高,降低了乳酸脱氢酶(LDH)活性,此外还恢复了总胆红素、甘油三酯和白蛋白水平。BS治疗还减轻了肝脏的氧化应激并提高了总抗氧化能力,并降低了TNF-α、NF-κB、TGF-β、IL-6和COX-2的表达。在组织病理学水平上,BS治疗也表现出抗纤维化活性。总之,这些发现表明,BS通过其抗氧化、抗炎和抗纤维化特性,对CCl4诱导的肝损伤具有潜在的肝保护作用。