Glycyrrhizin is a saponin component of chinese remedy, licorice and has been used for chronic hepatitis for more than 20 years, suggesting long term usage of glycyrrhizin prevents development of hepatocellular carcinoma in chronic hepatitis C. LEC rat is an animal model of Wilson's disease that suffers from spontaneous liver cell injury and subsequent hepatocellular carcinoma. The aim of this study was to demonstrate preventive effect of Glycyrrhizin on hepatic injury and liver cancer of LEC rat. Glycyrrhizin was given per os, IP injection to LEC rats fed with diet containing high copper diet, and injected subcutaneously to animals fed with low copper diet.
Elongation of survival rate and more rapid gaining of body weight were observed only in the animal group in which glycyrrhizin was subcutaneously injected and fed with low copper diet. But in the all other groups no significant differences were demonstrated.
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