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eCAM Advance Access published online on August 9, 2007
eCAM, doi:10.1093/ecam/nem078
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© 2007 The Author(s).
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Hepatoprotective Activity of Licorice Water Extract against Cadmium-induced Toxicity in Rats

Jong Rok Lee1, Sook Jahr Park1,2, Young Kyu Kwon1,2, Seon Young Jee1, Jungcheol Seo1,2, Hyeung-Sik Lee3, Taeg Kyu Kwon4 and Sang Chan Kim1,2

1College of Oriental Medicine 2Research & Development Team for The New Drug of Oriental Medicine (BK21 Program) 3Department of Herbal Biotechnology, Daegu Haany University, Gyeongsan, Republic of Korea 4Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Keimyung University, Daegu, Republic of Korea

Licorice is commonly used as a cure for digestive disorders and as a detoxification agent in East Asia. This study investigated the protective effect of licorice water extract against cadmium (CdCl2, Cd)-induced liver toxicity in rats. To induce acute toxicity, Cd (4 mg/kg body weight) was dissolved in normal saline and intravenously (i.v.) injected into rats. The rats then received either a vehicle or licorice water extract (50, 100 mg/kg/day) for 3 days, and were subsequently exposed to a single injection of Cd 24 h after the last licorice/vehicle treatment. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were significantly increased by Cd treatment. In contrast, pretreatment with licorice reduced ALT, AST and LDH. In histopathological analysis, licorice decreased the central necrosis around central veins, the peripheral hemorrhage around portal triads, the percentage of degenerative hepatic regions (%/mm2 hepatic parenchyma) and the number of degenerative hepatic cells (N/100 hepatic cells). Licorice also inhibited the increment of Bad (a BH3 domain-containing protein) translocation by Cd in liver cells. These results demonstrate that licorice could have a hepatoprotective effect by inhibiting the translocation of Bad to the mitochondria in Cd-intoxificated rats.

Keywords: Licorice – Cadmium – Protective Effect – Liver Toxicity – Bad Translocation

For reprints and all correspondence: Jong Rok Lee, College of Oriental Medicine, Daegu Haany University, 165 Sang-dong, Suseong-gu, Daegu 706-828, Republic of Korea. Tel: +82-53-770-2247; Fax: +82-53-768-6340; E-mail: sckim{at}dhu.ac.kr

Received October 26, 2006; accepted April 27, 2007


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