Protective Activity of Total Polyphenols from Genista quadriflora Munby and Teucrium polium geyrii Maire in Acetaminophen-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Rats

Abstract

Oxidative stress is a major cause of drug-induced hepatic diseases and several studies have demonstrated that diet supplementation with plants rich in antioxidant compounds provides a variety of health benefits in these circumstances. Genista quadriflora Munby (Gq) and Teucrium polium geyrii Maire (Tp) are known to possess antioxidant and numerous biological properties and these endemic plants are often used for dietary or medicinal applications. Herein, we evaluated the beneficial effect of rich-polyphenol fractions of Gq and Tp to prevent Acetaminophen-induced liver injury and investigated the mechanisms involved in this protective action. Rats were orally administered polyphenolic extracts from Gq or Tp (300 mg/kg) or N-acetylcysteine (NAC: 200 mg/kg) once daily for ten days prior to the single oral administration of Acetaminophen (APAP: 1 g/kg). The results show that preventive administration of polyphenolic extracts from Gq or Tp exerts a hepatoprotective influence during APAP treatment by improving transaminases leakage and liver histology and stimulating antioxidant defenses. Besides, suppression of liver CYP2E1, GSTpi and TNF-α mRNA levels, with enhancement of mitochondrial bioenergetics may contribute to the observed hepatoprotection induced by Gq and Tp extracts. The effect of Tp extract is significantly higher (1.5–2 fold) than that of Gq extract and NAC regarding the enhancement of mitochondrial functionality. Overall, this study brings the first evidence that pretreatment with these natural extracts display in vivo protective activity against APAP hepatotoxicity through improving mitochondrial bioenergetics, oxidant status, phase I and II enzymes expression and inflammatory processes probably by virtue of their high total polyphenols content.

Teucrium Polium Plant Extract Provokes Substantial Cytotoxicity at the Early Stage of Embryonic Development

“…Thus, we herein report that TP extract can cause a dramatic toxic effect on the embryo at 3 days of incubation, since ~95% of our TP-exposed embryos die after 3 days of treatment; therefore, it is clear that TP extract severely affects the survival probability of the exposed embryos in comparison with their controls. These data are consistent with several investigations related to the toxic effect of TP extract in animal models [17][18][19]. Moreover, our study revealed that TP extract could harm the chicken embryo and inhibit angiogenesis of CAM by ~40% after 2-4 days of exposure.…”

“…The outcome of TP extract on women' s health is not well understood, especially during pregnancy. However, a few-existing data regarding the effect of TP extract on human health indicate that TP could be harmful during the early stage of normal fetal development, especially since it can induce hepatotoxicity in humans as well as in animal models [11,12,[17][18][19]. This is particularly important since pregnant women, especially in the Mediterranean region, might consume this medicinal plant without being aware of its adverse effects on their pregnancy.…”

Anti-inflammatory and Antioxidant Effects ofLotus corniculatuson Paracetamol-induced Hepatitis in Rats

“…A section from the median lobe was used for histological analysis. The remaining liver was stored at 80°C for further analysis [ 20 ].…”

Herbal Therapy for the Treatment of Acetaminophen-Associated Liver Injury: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

“…Two of the endemic plants (Genista quadriflora Munby and Teucrium polium L.) in France that are frequently used for dietary and/or medical applications were testified and compared for its hepatoprotective effectiveness against APAPinduced hepatotoxicity in rats (Baali et al, 2016). Pretreatments of the rich-polyphenol fractions of them (300 mg/kg per day for 10 days) prior to oral administration of APAP (1 g/kg) exerted a hepatoprotective effect against ALI by improving transaminase leakage and enhancing antioxidant defense.…”