Tetrachloromethane Induced Acute Liver Injury in Mice: Biochemical and Histopathological Study of the Hepatoprotective Effect of Hep-X Standardized Botanical Dietary Supplement

This work was aimed at investigating the hepatoprotective effect of Hep-X, a polyherbal formulation containing Silybum marianum L. (Milk thistle), Rosmarinus officinalis L. (Rosemary), Curcuma longa L. (Turmeric) and Fumaria officinalis L. (Fumitory) as standardized botanical dietary supplement, on mice with CCl 4 -induced acute liver injury. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents of Hep-X were determined as 0.125 and 0.528 mg/mL, respectively. The quercetin content was determined as 50 µg/mL using HPLC analysis. The total antioxidant capacity showed correlation between the Hep-X concentration and percentage inhibition of free radicals. Hep-X was administered orally at 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg b.w./day against CCl 4 -induced hepatotoxicity in mice. The hepatic damage was measured using blood biochemical parameters. Animals upon Hep-X treatment exhibited better drug effIcacy in certain blood parameters than silymarin-treated mice. Also, Hep-X administration significantly ameliorated the liver damage by suppressing iNOS expression and apoptosis as well as by recovery of the histological structure. The obtained results suggest that Hep-X is able to significantly alleviate the hepatotoxicity induced by CCl 4 in mice, which can be due to antioxidant properties of the polyherbal formulation.