Protective effects and mechanism of salvianolic acid on acute hepatic injury induced by CCl4 in rats

Objective To observe the protective effects of salvianolic acid(SA)in specific composition on CCl4-induced acute hepatic injury of rats and the possible mechanisms.Methods Rats were divided into 5 groups.Water was given to control and model group and SA in different doses to test groups by gavage,respectively.After 2 weeks,acute hepatic injury model was induced by CCl4 and oil was used in control group.The activity of aspartate aminotransferase(AST),alanine aminotransferase(ALT)in serum and the levels of malondi-aldehyde(MDA),superoxide dismutase(SOD),glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px),and glutathione(GSH)in serum and liver were measured.Pathological changes of liver were also observed.Results The activity of AST and ALT in serum of model rats were 615 IU/L,243 IU/L,and 348-452 IU/L,134-181 IU/L in SA groups,respectively,with significant decrease(P<0.05).Compared with the model group,the activities of SOD in 300 mg/kg·bw SA group showed 22.7% and 16.7% increase in serum and livelr homogenate tissue,and the level of MDA a decrease of 19.3% and 30.5%,and GSH an increase of 9.2% and 9.1%(P<0.05).Degeneration and necrosis of liver tissues were observed.Conclusion SA shows protective effect against CCl4-induced acute liver injuries in rats,and the mechanism is relevant to the improving of the anti-oxidative activity.