Protective Effect of Liriope platyphylla Extract in a Thioacetamide Induced Hepatotoxicity Model

This study, we aimed to analyze the effect of treatment of Liriope platyphylla( L.platyphlla) extract on the protection of hepatotoxicity in a model of thioacetamide (TAA)-induced liver toxicity. Male 6-week-old Sprague Dawley (SD) rats (Raonbio, Gyeonggi, Korea) weighing 206.4±9.0 g were used after acclimatization for 1 week. The rats were categorized into six groups: normal control (Nomal), hepatotoxicity-induced (TAA), positive control (TAA+Sylimarin (SLM) 50 mg/kg,bw), and low, medium, and high concentration of Liriope platyphylla extract (TAA+LPE 100, 200, 300 mg/kg,bw) (n=7). The animals were orally administered 1 mL of the test substance once/day at a fixed time for a total of 14 days, and five experimental groups, except the normal control group, were intraperitoneally administered 0.1 mL of TAA (200 mg/kg,bw) to induce acute liver toxicity. As a result, liver weight was significantly increased in all TAA treated groups compared to the normal control group (p<0.001). H&E staining of liver tissue showed vacuolization of nuclei and cytoplasm, hepatocyte necrosis, and vesicular lesions of liver tissue in the TAA alone group (p<0.05), which were ameliorated by Liriope platyphylla extract treatment. Furthermore, a significant concentration-dependent decrease in caspase-3 expression was observed in the SLM group compared to TAA alone (p<0.05). Based on the results of this study, if further research is conducted on the antioxidant effect and mechanism of action, it is expected that SLM can be effective as a hepatoprotectant for liver function of natural products.