The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the chloroform extract of Terminalia catappa L. leaves (TCCE) on carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced acute liver damage and D-galactosamine (D-GalN)-induced hepatocyte injury. Moreover, the effects of ursolic acid and asiatic acid, two isolated components of TCCE, on mitochondria and free radicals were investigated to determine the mechanism underlying the action of TCCE on hepatotoxicity. In the acute hepatic damage test, remarkable rises in the activity of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (5.7- and 2.0-fold) induced by CCl4 were reversed and significant morphological changes were lessened with pre-treatment with 50 and 100 mg kg1 TCCE. In the hepatocyte injury experiment, the increases in ALT and AST levels (1.9- and 2.1-fold) in the medium of primary cultured hepatocytes induced by D-GalN were blocked by pre-treatment with 0.05, 0.1, 0.5 g L1 TCCE. In addition, Ca2+-induced mitochondrial swelling was dose-dependently inhibited by 50–500 M ursolic acid and asiatic acid. Both ursolic acid and asiatic acid, at concentrations ranging from 50 to 500 M, showed dose-dependent superoxide anion and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. It can be concluded that TCCE has hepatoprotective activity and the mechanism is related to protection of liver mitochondria and the scavenging action on free radicals.
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