Investigation of therapeutic effects of α-mangostin on thioacetamide-induced cirrhosis in rats

Abstract

To determine the effects of alpha-mangostin on thioacetamide (TAA)-induced liver cirrhosis in rats. Material and Method: Male Wistar rats were divided into 3 groups and treated with intraperitoneal injections of TAA (200 mg/kg) 3 times per week for per week for 8, 12 and 16 weeks, respectively. One subgroup was left untreated whereas the other two were treated either with 100 mg/kg α-mangostin or vehicle alone (80% DMSO, 20% water), which were administered intraperitoneally 3 times per week for a total of 4 weeks. The incidence of fibrotic nodules on the liver and the serum levels of the liver enzymes aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) were measured. Moreover, the liver cirrhosis-related genes expression and p53 protein level in liver were analyzed by quantitative reverse transcription PCR and Western blot analysis, respectively. Results: Fibrotic nodules on the liver were formed upon treatment with TAA for 12 or 16 weeks. The nodules were then reduced by treatment with α-mangostin as compared to treatment with the vehicle DMSO. Moreover, the serum levels of the liver enzymes AST and ALT after treatment with α-mangostin decreased as compared to DMSO alone. The liver cirrhosisrelated genes expression showed no significant differences, whereas the p53 protein level in liver showed that α-mangostin reduced risk of liver fibrosis through the decrease in p53 expression as compared to the TAA_DMSO treatment. Conclusion: The results suggest that α-mangostin has a beneficial therapeutic effect in the TAA liver cirrhosis model. Further investigations on mechanisms of α-mangostin as therapeutic agent should be determined. © 2015, Medical Association of Thailand. All rights reserved.