Hepatoprotective activities of a sesquiterpene-rich fraction from the aerial part of Cichorium glandulosum

SRF was suspended in water and administered to mice at 0.05, 0.10 and 0.20 g/kg body weight for 7 consecutive days. An active control drug (bifendate pills) was suspended in distilled water and administered to mice at 0.40 g/kg body weight for 7 consecutive days. Hepatotoxicity was induced by intraperitoneal injection of 0.1% CCl4 (0.2 mL/mouse) at 13 h before the last drug administration, or by tail intravenous injection of BCG (0.2 mL/mouse) before the first drug administration and LPS (0.2 mL/mouse; 8 μg) at 15 h before the last drug administration. Blood samples and the livers were collected for evaluation of the biochemical parameters of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and total bilirubin (TBIL).SRF significantly reduced the impact of CCl4 toxicity. The highest dose of SRF (0.20 g/kg) was the most effective, reflected by significant reductions in the levels of AST (P = 0.001), ALT (P = 0.000) and TBIL (P = 0.009). The serum enzymatic levels induced by BCG and subsequent LPS injection were significantly and dose-dependently restored by SRF, reflected by significant reductions in the levels of AST (P = 0.003), ALT (P = 0.003) and TBIL (P = 0.007) for the highest dose of SRF (0.20 g/kg).SRF is hepatoprotective in animal models of chemical and immunological acute liver injury.The liver is a vital organ that is vulnerable to many diseases, such as hepatitis A, B, C and E, alcohol damage, fatty liver, cirrhosis, cancer and drug damage [1,2]. Free radicals are the main causes of liver diseases, and liver ailments remain a serious health problem [3]. Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) is frequently used as a chemical inducer of experimental tissue damage [4-6], owing to its production of a free radical, trichloromethyl radical (·CCl3). Bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG) and subsequent lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection provokes hepatic injury in mice [7], and is considered to be a useful experimental model for immunological liver injury [8].Despit