Preliminary characterization, antioxidant activity in vitro and hepatoprotective effect on acute alcohol-induced liver injury in mice of polysaccharides from the peduncles of Hovenia dulcis

• Published in: Food and chemical toxicology Vol. 50; no. 9; pp. 2964 - 2970
• Main Authors: Wang, Mingchun, Zhu, Peilei, Jiang, Changxing, Ma, Liping, Zhang, Zhanjun, Zeng, Xiaoxiong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2012; Elsevier
• Subjects: alanine transaminase; Alanine Transaminase - blood; Alcohol; Alcoholism and acute alcohol poisoning; Animals; Antioxidant; antioxidant activity; arabinose; Aspartate Aminotransferases - blood; aspartate transaminase; Biological and medical sciences; blood serum; dietary supplements; ethanol; Ethanol - adverse effects; free radical scavengers; galactose; galacturonic acid; General pharmacology; glutathione peroxidase; Hepatoprotective effect; herbal medicines; Hovenia dulcis; lipid peroxidation; liver; liver diseases; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic - enzymology; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic - etiology; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic - prevention & control; Liver injury; malondialdehyde; Malondialdehyde - metabolism; Medical sciences; Mice; oxidative stress; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; poisoning; Polysaccharide; polysaccharides; Polysaccharides - pharmacology; Rhamnaceae - chemistry; rhamnose; superoxide anion; superoxide dismutase; Superoxide Dismutase - metabolism; Superoxides - metabolism; Toxicology; Alcohol; Hepatoprotective effect; Hovenia dulcis; Antioxidant; Polysaccharide; Liver injury; Hepatoprotector; Toxicity; Injury; Liver; Medicinal plant; Characterization; Alcoholic beverage; Saturated aliphatic compound; Alkanol; Carbohydrate; Organic compounds; Ethanol; Digestive system; Aliphatic compound; Biochemical compound; Acute; Rodentia; Oside; Experimental study; In vitro; Biological activity; Primary alcohol; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Mouse; Animal; Plant origin; Lesion
• ISSN: 0278-6915; 1873-6351
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2012.06.034

► Polysaccharide from the peduncles of Hovenia dulcis (HDPS) was prepared. ► HDPS was mainly composed of galactose, arabinose, rhamnose and galacturonic acid. ► HDPS exhibited a high antioxidant activity in vitro. ► HDPS protected significantly against acute alcohol-induced liver injury in mice. The fresh fleshy peduncles of Hovenia dulcis have been used as a food supplement and traditional herbal medicine for the treatment of liver diseases and alcoholic poisoning for more than a millennium. The objectives of the present study, therefore, were to determine the antioxidant activity of polysaccharides from the peduncles of H. dulcis (HDPS) and to evaluate its hepatoprotective effect on acute alcohol-induced liver injury in mice. HDPS, prepared by hot water extraction, ethanol precipitation and treatment of macroporous resin, was found to be non-starch polysaccharide and mainly composed of galactose, arabinose, rhamnose and galacturonic acid. In in vitro antioxidant assay, HDPS exhibited high superoxide radical scavenging activity, strong inhibition effect on lipid peroxidation and a medium ferrous ion-chelating activity. For hepatoprotective activity in vivo, the administration of HDPS significantly decreased the serum levels of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, significantly decreased the liver level of malondialdehyde and remarkably restored the liver activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase in alcohol-induced liver injury mice. The results suggested that HDPS had a significant protective effect against acute alcohol-induced liver injury possibly via its antioxidant activity to protect biological systems against the oxidative stress.