Abstract
Tritoqualine (TRQ) adiministered at doses of 100 or 200 mg/kg, perorally, had a preventive effect on the liver injury in rats induced by the treatment with CCl4 for 12 weeks consecutively. Rats subjected to this chronic treatment with CCl4 showed a decrease in body weight gain and changes in several serum parameters that are indicators of hepatic function were observed: the increase of transaminases, as a parameter of hepatocyte breakdown; the increase of alkaline phosphatase, as a parameter of biliary system abnormalities, the reduction of prothrombin time, as a marker of protein biosynthesis in the liver; and the change of lipids concentrations, reflecting liver injury. After the administration of TRQ perorally, there was a notable suppression of the increment in leaked enzymes in the serum and a marked improvement of the parameters concerning protein biosynthesis and lipid metabolism in comparison with CCl4 control rats. Marked fibrosis in the liver was observed after CCl4 treatment for 12 weeks, and the collagen content in the liver was 5 times higher than that of control rats. TRQ suppressed the increment in collagen formation and also showed improvement of the decrease of the liver function with regards to protein biosynthesis in CCl4-treated rats. Judging from these results, it was concluded that TRQ had a remarkable protecting action on the liver injury chronically induced by CCl4 treatment and was a effective compound for restoring liver function.
