Open Access

ARTICLE

The role of baicalin on carbon tetrachloride induced liver fibrosis

MENGTING LI^*, YI-ER QIU, KAIFENG ZHENG

Department of Gastroenterology, the Affiliated People’s Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315040, China

* Corresponding Author:MENGTING LI. Email:

BIOCELL 2022, 46(4), 1089-1096. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2022.013432

Received 07 August 2020; Accepted 25 September 2020; Issue published 15 December 2021

Abstract

The effect of the baicalin, a bio-active flavonoid extracted from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, on the carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) induced liver fibrosis was investigated. To compare the effect of baicalin on the liver fibrosis, five different groups of rats treated by 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg baicalin were studied. Upon CCl₄ treatment, the levels of procollagen type III, aspartate aminotransferase, aminotransferase, hyaluronic acid, and hydroxyproline were significantly increased, whereas the superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase content were decreased. These changes in the biochemical parameters, which are associated with liver function, were significantly attenuated by the baicalin treatment, suggesting that baicalin can suppress the liver fibrosis induced by CCl₄. Moreover, the histological staining analysis demonstrated that baicalin could effectively inhibit the degree of liver cell injury. The protein expression of AKT/JAK2/ERK in the serum were markedly increased by CCl₄ but suppressed by the treatment of baicalin in a dose-dependent manner, implying that baicalin can attenuated cell apoptosis induced by CCl₄. Overall, these results suggest that baicalin effectively protects hepatocytes from the CCl₄ oxidative damage, likely due to the inhibition of free radical generation and cell apoptosis during the liver injury.

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