Schisandra Lignan Extract Protects against Carbon Tetrachloride‐Induced Liver Injury in Mice by Inhibiting Oxidative Stress and Regulating the NF‐κB and JNK Signaling Pathways

Abstract

Schisandra chinensis (S. chinensis) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine widely used for the treatment of liver disease, whose main active components are lignans. However, the action mechanisms of the lignans in S. chinensis remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the protective effect and related molecular mechanism of Schisandra lignan extract (SLE) against carbon tetrachloride- (CCl4-) induced acute liver injury in mice. Different doses of SLE at 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg were administered daily by gavage for 5 days before CCl4 treatment. The results showed that SLE significantly decreased the activities of serum ALT/AST and reduced liver pathologic changes induced by CCl4. Pretreatment with SLE not only decreased the content of MDA but increased SOD, GSH, and GSH-Px activities in the liver, suggesting that SLE attenuated CCl4-induced oxidative stress. The expression levels of inflammatory cytokines TNF-a, IL-1β, and IL-6 were decreased after oral administration of SLE, probably because lignans inhibited the NF-κB activity. Additionally, SLE also inhibited hepatocyte apoptosis by suppressing JNK activation and regulating Bcl-2/Bax signaling pathways. In conclusion, these results suggested that SLE prevented CCl4-induced liver injury through a combination of antioxidative stress, anti-inflammation, and antihepatocyte apoptosis and alleviated inflammation and apoptosis by regulating the NF-κB, JNK, and Bcl-2/Bax signaling pathways.

Dietary zerumbone, a sesquiterpene, ameliorates hepatotoxin‐mediated acute and chronic liver injury in mice

“…For this reason, traditional and herbal medicine has attracted increasing attention due to its cost-effectiveness and relative safety compared with pharmaceutical drugs (Kalantari et al, 2017). In line with this notion, several studies showed that such traditional medications exert protective role on ALI progression by regulating JNK signaling and oxidative stress-mediated cell death (Chen et al, 2017;Lu et al, 2016).…”

Schisandra Extract and Ascorbic Acid Synergistically Enhance Cognition in Mice through Modulation of Mitochondrial Respiration

“…In the present study, we analyzed the beneficial effects of SCE and AA on mitochondrial respiration and behavior. SCE is enriched for a number of bioactive ingredients, including gomisin and schisandrin, as confirmed by HPLC ( Figure S1), and is known to enhance cognitive performance and provide neuroprotection [10,13,29]. AA is present in various plants and is used as a dietary supplement.…”

“…Voucher specimens (GL0680) were authenticated by us and were deposited by Dr. Chun Whan Choi at the herbarium of Bio-center, Gyeonggi Institute of Science & Technology Promotion, Suwon, South Korea. 1 H and 13 C NMR experiments were performed on a Bruker Ascend 700 MHz spectrometer with tetramethylsilane (TMS). LC-ESI-MS were obtained on a Triple TOF 5600+ instrument (AB SCIEX, MA, USA) and HRESI-MS on a LTQ Orbitrap XL instrument (Thermo Scientific, MA, USA).…”

“…Schisandra chinensis extract (SCE) has been reported to exert neuroprotective effects [10], including amelioration of cognitive deficits in a mouse model of chronic, unpredictable mild stress [11], and improvement of synaptic morphology and plasticity in ovariectomized mice [12]; it also protects against oxidative stress in hepatocytes [13]. Supplementation with ascorbic acid (AA), a water-soluble vitamin C found in plants, has been reported to prevent impairment of synaptic plasticity and hippocampal LTP attributable to oxidative damage induced by lead, a neurotoxic metal [14].…”

Integrated Plasma and Bile Metabolomics Based on an UHPLC-Q/TOF-MS and Network Pharmacology Approach to Explore the Potential Mechanism of Schisandra chinensis-Protection From Acute Alcoholic Liver Injury

“…Many years of clinical application have shown that the hepatoprotective effect of SC is strong. At present, the mechanism of SC in treating ALI has mostly been studied from the molecular point of view, such as in terms of signal pathways and hepatic drug enzymes (Wang et al, 2014;Chen et al, 2017;Yuan et al, 2018), mainly focusing on the mechanisms of the active components of the SC monomer Nagappan et al, 2018). There have been few reports on the effect of SC on alcoholic liver injury from the perspective of metabolomics.…”