Hepatoprotective effect of a curcumin/absinthium compound in experimental severe liver injury

OBJECTIVE:  A preliminary in vitro study with hepatocyte culture showed that concentrations as low as 10 µg/mL of PN-M001 are able to significantly mitigate CCl4 hepatocyte damage (P < 0.05) comparable to 100 µg/mL silymarin, and 100 µg/mL proved to be more protective than either silymarin 100 µg/mL or glycyrrhizin 10 µg/mL (P < 0.05). METHODS:  Wistar rats were allocated into three groups: (A) 0.1 mL/100 g body weight (BW) mixture of CCl4 in olive oil (1 : 1 v/v) subcutaneous injection twice daily for 4 weeks; (B) as A, plus oral administration of 50 mg/kg of K-17.22 dissolved in 5% glucose; (C) as B but with PN-M001 given 1 week after the first injection of CCl4. Rats were killed at the end of the study and blood and liver samples were obtained. RESULTS:  When compared with a control, group A showed a significant decrease of glutathione (GSH;>45%, P  15-fold, P < 0.001) whereas groups B and C both showed only a mild increase in transaminases (<4-fold, P < 0.05). Group A showed a significant decrease of Y-protein fraction and of GST activity, as tested by both substrates (P < 0.01 vs control). However, both these parameters were reverted to normal by PN-M001 (P < 0.05 vs A). CONCLUSIONS:  These preliminary data suggest that PN-M001 exerts a highly protective and prolonged effect (either preventive or therapeutic) on GSH depletion in CCl4-induced liver injury, which suggests its potential use in the clinical setting.