Protective effect of Anoectochilus roxburghii polysaccharide against CCl4-induced oxidative liver damage in mice

This study investigated the isolation and characterization of Anoectochilus roxburghii polysaccharides (ARP), and further evaluated whether ARP possessed hepatoprotective activities against CCl4-induced oxidative liver damage in mice. ARP is comprised of glucose and galactose in a 1.9:1 molar ratio, and the molecular weight is 19.5 kDa. ARP displayed significant scavenging effects against hydroxyl radical, superoxide anion radical, DPPH radical and a strong reducing power. In vivo experiment demonstrated ARP (150 mg/kg) administrated to mice for 7 days prior to carbon tetrachloride treatment, attenuated the elevated expression levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), triglyceride (TG) in serum and inhibited the formation of hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA). ARP pretreatment also increased antioxidant enzyme activities such as glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in the liver of CCl4-induced mice. Furthermore, hepatic histopathological changes induced by CCl4 were significantly normalized by ARP pretreatment. These findings demonstrated that ARP possessed hepatoprotective effect against acute CCl4-induced liver damage by reducing lipid oxidation.