Abstract: Objective To study the hepatoprotective effect and mechanism of Sagittaria Sagittifolia against cadmium-induced acute liver injury on rats.Methods Thirty six male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned into six groups,each of six.The rats were pretreated intragastrically with 25%,50%,75% Sagittaria Sagittifolia extract (2ml/100g),vitamin E (50mg/100g) of distilled water once daily for ten days.Twenty-four hours after the last dosing,animals were administered with CdCl₂(20μmol/kg) intraperitoneally,Control animals were given distilled water only.Twenty-four hours after the intoxication,the serum LDH and GPT activity,liver SOD,GSH-PX activity as well as liver GSH MDA and Cd content were measured in each group above.Results Pretreatment of rats with 50% and 75% Sagittaria Sagittifolia extract could decrease the activity of serum LDH and GPT (P<0.05 ),decrease liver MDA content (P<0.05),and increase liver GSH level (P<0.05 ),the later also decreased liver Cd level (P<0.05 ).However,treatment of rats with vitamin E only decreased the liver MDA level (P<0.05 ).Conclusion Sagittaria Sagittifolia pretreatment seems to be more effective than vitamin E on protecting against cadmium-induced acute liver injury on rats,possibly through enhancement of both antioxidant and detoxification processes in the liver.