Aqueous Garlic Extract Alleviates Liver Fibrosis and Renal Dysfunction in Bile-Duct-Ligated Rats
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Mona F. Mahmoud
,
Sara Zakaria
There is accumulating evidence that the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is involved in hepatic inflammation and fibrogenesis. Garlic was found to lower the activity of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) in the serum of rats in a diabetic model. We examined the effect of an aqueous garlic extract (AGE) on the ACE activity, cholestasis-induced liver fibrosis, and associated renal dysfunction in comparison with the effect of the standard drug enalapril. Both AGE and enalapril were administered orally for six weeks starting from the third day after bile duct ligation (BDL). BDL significantly increased the serum activities of liver enzymes, serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, an indicator of liver cell death, serum total bilirubin (TB) level, liver myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, and liver malondialdehyde (MDA) content. BDL was associated with elevation of serum urea and creatinine levels indicating renal dysfunction. BDL also caused an increase in the transcript levels of the genes coding for tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a), transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-b1), and matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13), a collagenase, in liver tissues. A significant decrease in hepatic reduced glutathione (GSH) was observed in BDL rats, while serum ACE activity was increased. Both AGE and enalapril counteracted all these deleterious changes, with the exception that only AGE reduced the MPO activity. These findings suggest that AGE possesses hepato- and renoprotective properties, similar to enalapril, probably by modulating the levels of proteins such as TNF-α, TGF-β1 and MMP-13, and involving a reduction of ACE and of oxidative stress.
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Articles in the same Issue
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- Non-Alkaloidal Compounds from the Bulbs of the Egyptian Plant Pancratium maritimum
- In vitro Investigation of Anticancer, Cell-Cycle-Inhibitory, and Apoptosis-Inducing Effects of Diversin, a Natural Prenylated Coumarin, on Bladder Carcinoma Cells
- Antileishmanial Compounds from Moringa oleifera Lam.
- Cytotoxic Polyacetylenes from the Red Sea Sponge Siphonochalina siphonella
- The Co-Occurrence of Two Pyridine Alkaloids, Mimosine and Trigonelline, in Leucaena leucocephala
- Aqueous Garlic Extract Alleviates Liver Fibrosis and Renal Dysfunction in Bile-Duct-Ligated Rats
- The Wheat Aquaporin Gene TaAQP7 Confers Tolerance to Cold Stress in Transgenic Tobacco
- Isolation and Characterization of Wild-Type Lipoxygenase LOXPsa1 from Pleurotus sapidus
- Molecular Cloning and Characterization of a Bombyx mori Gene Encoding the Transcription Factor Atonal
- Total Antioxidant Capacity of Feces of Mammalian Herbivores and Carnivores
- Direct Asymmetric Aldol Reactions Catalyzed by Lipase from Porcine Pancreas
Articles in the same Issue
- A New Ergostane Triterpenoid from a Solid Culture of the Basidiomycete Inocybe lilacina
- Non-Alkaloidal Compounds from the Bulbs of the Egyptian Plant Pancratium maritimum
- In vitro Investigation of Anticancer, Cell-Cycle-Inhibitory, and Apoptosis-Inducing Effects of Diversin, a Natural Prenylated Coumarin, on Bladder Carcinoma Cells
- Antileishmanial Compounds from Moringa oleifera Lam.
- Cytotoxic Polyacetylenes from the Red Sea Sponge Siphonochalina siphonella
- The Co-Occurrence of Two Pyridine Alkaloids, Mimosine and Trigonelline, in Leucaena leucocephala
- Aqueous Garlic Extract Alleviates Liver Fibrosis and Renal Dysfunction in Bile-Duct-Ligated Rats
- The Wheat Aquaporin Gene TaAQP7 Confers Tolerance to Cold Stress in Transgenic Tobacco
- Isolation and Characterization of Wild-Type Lipoxygenase LOXPsa1 from Pleurotus sapidus
- Molecular Cloning and Characterization of a Bombyx mori Gene Encoding the Transcription Factor Atonal
- Total Antioxidant Capacity of Feces of Mammalian Herbivores and Carnivores
- Direct Asymmetric Aldol Reactions Catalyzed by Lipase from Porcine Pancreas
