Preventive Effects of Saponins from Puerariae Radix (the root of Pueraria lobata OHWI) on in Vitro Immunological Injury of Rat Primary Hepatocyte Cultures

Abstract

The preventive effects of saponins from Puerariae Radix toward in vitro immunological liver injury using an antiserum against the rat liver plasma membranes on primary cultured rat hepatocytes were studied. Crude saponin from Puerariae Radix inhibited the elevation of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity at the dose of 90 μg/ml. The inhibition was stronger than that of glycyrrhizin, which was a positive control drug. The representative saponins in this drug, soyasaponin I and kudzusaponin SA₃, were also more effective than glycyrrhizin, although their effects were weaker than that of crude saponin at the lower doses (90, 200 μg/ml). At 500 μg/ml, kudzusaponin SA₃ showed antihepatotoxic activity equal to that of crude saponin.