Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Aloperine attenuates carbon tetrachloride-induced mouse hepatic injury via Nrf2/HO-1 pathway

Rui Xiong¹, Shuzhong Shan² , Xiaoming Wang¹, Xiaowen Zhang¹, Haixia Yu¹, Haomin Shi¹, Xuejiao Wang¹

¹Department of Clinical Nutrition; ²Department of Orthopaedics, Qinhai Provincial People's Hospital, Xining City, Qinghai Province 810007, China.

For correspondence:- Shuzhong Shan Email: ShuzhongShandjk@163.com Tel:+869718066178

Accepted: 24 April 2020 Published: 31 May 2020

Citation: Xiong R, Shan S, Wang X, Zhang X, Yu H, Shi H, et al. Aloperine attenuates carbon tetrachloride-induced mouse hepatic injury via Nrf2/HO-1 pathway. Trop J Pharm Res 2020; 19(5):983-988 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v19i5.11

© 2020 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To investigate whether aloperine pretreatment ameliorates acute liver injury in carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄)-treated mice.

Methods: Mice were injected with CCl₄ and orally administered aloperine. Blood samples and liver tissues were used for histopathological and biochemical analyses, respectively. Protein expression levels were determined by western blotting.

Results: Histopathological analysis indicate that aloperine pretreatment significantly alleviated CCl₄-induced mouse hepatic injury. CCl₄ treatment induced the upregulation of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine amino transferase (ALT), and total bilirubin (p < 0.05). However, these alterations were significantly inhibited by aloperine treatment. Moreover, aloperine pretreatment markedly decreased (p < 0.05) the CCl₄-induced expression of oxidative stress biomarkers, including malondrialdeline (MDA), glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Compared to the control group, the protein levels of Nrf2, HO-1, iNOS, and COX-2 were significantly increased in the CCl₄ group, while Nrf2 and HO-1 were upregulated. Furthermore, iNOS and COX-2 were downregulated in mouse liver in CCl₄ + aloperine group compared to CCl₄ group in a concentration-dependent manner (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Aloperine pretreatment appears to markedly upregulate Nrf2 and HO-1 and downregulate iNOS and COX-2 to suppress hepatic injury in mice. Thus, aloperine is a promising treatment for acute liver injury.

Keywords: Hepatic injury, Aloperine, Oxidative stress, Nrf2/HO-1 pathway