Effect of Acanthopanax koreanum Nakai (Araliaceae) on D-galactosamine and lipopolysaccharide-induced fulminant hepatitis.

The hepatoprotective effects of Acanthopanax koreanum Nakai (Araliaceae) were evaluated in D-galactosamine/lipopolysaccharide-induced fulminant hepatic failure in mouse. Preparations of Acanthopanax koreanum used were an ethanol extract, a water extract, and the ethanol-soluble and ethanol-insoluble components of the water extract of roots or stems of the plant. Mice were pretreated with various extracts by intraperitoneal injection or orally, 12 and 1 h before intraperitoneal injection of D-galactosamine and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Intraperitoneal pretreatment with the water extract or the ethanol-insoluble component of the water extract markedly reduced the elevated levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), reduced the histological changes in the liver, and attenuated hepatocyte apoptosis confirmed by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling method and DNA fragmentation assay. Oral pretreatment with the ethanol-insoluble component of the water extract also reduced serum AST, ALT, and TNF-alpha levels. The present study shows that the ethanol-insoluble component of a water extract from Acanthopanax koreanum has a protective effect against the induction of fulminant hepatitis in mice by D-galactosamine and lipopolysaccharide.