1. The antioxidant effect of β-caryophyllene protects rat liver from carbon tetrachloride-induced fibrosis by inhibiting hepatic stellate cell activation.
- Author
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Calleja MA, Vieites JM, Montero-Meléndez T, Torres MI, Faus MJ, Gil A, and Suárez A
- Subjects
- Animals, Antioxidants administration & dosage, Antioxidants metabolism, Antioxidants pharmacology, Arachidonate 5-Lipoxygenase chemistry, Arachidonate 5-Lipoxygenase metabolism, Carbon Tetrachloride Poisoning metabolism, Carbon Tetrachloride Poisoning pathology, Cell Line, Cell Survival drug effects, Female, Flavoring Agents administration & dosage, Flavoring Agents metabolism, Flavoring Agents therapeutic use, Free Radical Scavengers administration & dosage, Free Radical Scavengers metabolism, Free Radical Scavengers therapeutic use, Hepatic Stellate Cells drug effects, Hepatic Stellate Cells enzymology, Lipid Peroxidation drug effects, Lipoxygenase Inhibitors administration & dosage, Lipoxygenase Inhibitors metabolism, Lipoxygenase Inhibitors therapeutic use, Liver drug effects, Liver pathology, Monocyclic Sesquiterpenes, Oxidative Stress drug effects, Polycyclic Sesquiterpenes, Probucol pharmacology, Probucol therapeutic use, Random Allocation, Rats, Rats, Wistar, Sesquiterpenes administration & dosage, Sesquiterpenes metabolism, alpha-Tocopherol metabolism, alpha-Tocopherol therapeutic use, Antioxidants therapeutic use, Carbon Tetrachloride Poisoning prevention & control, Dietary Supplements, Hepatic Stellate Cells metabolism, Liver metabolism, Sesquiterpenes therapeutic use
- Abstract
Plant-based whole foods provide thousands of bioactive metabolites to the human diet that reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases. β-Caryophyllene (CAR) is a common constituent of the essential oil of numerous plants, vegetables, fruits and medicinal herbs, and has been used as a flavouring agent since the 1930 s. Here, we report the antioxidant activity of CAR, its protective effect on liver fibrosis and its inhibitory capacity on hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation. CAR was tested for the inhibition of lipid peroxidation and as a free radical scavenger. CAR had higher inhibitory capacity on lipid peroxidation than probucol, α-humulene and α-tocopherol. Also, CAR showed high scavenging activities against hydroxyl radical and superoxide anion. The activity of 5-lipoxygenase, an enzyme that actively participates in fibrogenesis, was significantly inhibited by CAR. Carbon tetrachloride-treated rats received CAR at 2, 20 and 200 mg/kg. CAR significantly improved liver structure, and reduced fibrosis and the expression of Col1a1, Tgfb1 and Timp1 genes. Oxidative stress was used to establish a model of HSC activation with overproduction of extracellular matrix proteins. CAR (1 and 10 μm) increased cell viability and significantly reduced the expression of fibrotic marker genes. CAR, a sesquiterpene present in numerous plants and foods, is as a natural antioxidant that reduces carbon tetrachloride-mediated liver fibrosis and inhibits hepatic cell activation.
- Published
- 2013
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