Hepatoprotective effects of polysaccharides extracted from Zizyphus jujube cv. Huanghetanzao

Jujube polysaccharides have been proved to have various bioactivities. This study was designed to evaluate the chemical composition and hepatoprotective function of the polysaccharides extracted from Zizyphus jujube cv. Huanghetanzao (HJP). The composition of HJP was determined as heteropolysaccharides with galactose and arabinose being the main components. The pretreatment of mice with HJP significantly (p < 0.01) reduced the activities of serum hepatic AST, ALT, and LDH induced by CCl4 or acetaminophen (APAP) while the commercial liver-injury treatment drug silybin did not show any prevention effects. Mechanistic study results indicate that the administration of the CCl4- or APAP-injured mice with HJP enhanced SOD and GSH-Px and decreased MDA, indicating that anti-oxidation and detoxification could be the pathways for the liver protection observed. In addition, the liver prevention and treatment effects of HJP on the liver damage induced by CCl4 or APAP obtained from the liver enzyme analyses were confirmed by the hepatic histopathology studies in mice. Therefore, HJP could be used as a prevention and treatment agent for liver injury induced by liver toxic chemicals and drugs.