Antihepatotoxic actions of tannins.

The antihepatotoxic effects of tannin analogues were examined utilizing carbon tetrachloride- and galactosamine-induced cytotoxicity in primary cultured rat hepatocytes. Most tannins showed significant antihepatotoxic effects in these two assay systems. Hydrolyzable tannins generally exhibited an intense enzyme inhibitory action on glutamic-pyruvic transaminase while condensed tannins exerted a much less inhibitory action, although variations were observed depending on structure. Structure-activity relationships are discussed.