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Experimental cirrhosis of the liver and cytoprotective effects of alpha tocopherol
Z Cantürk1, N Z Cantürk, G Ozbilim
1Kocaeli University, Medical School, Department of Internal Medicine, Turkey.
Objective:
To investigate whether alpha tocopherol (alpha-T) treatment influences liver cirrhosis induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in the rat.
Design:
Laboratory experiment.
Setting:
Teaching hospital, Turkey.
Subjects:
Fifty rats were divided into three groups. Group I consisted of ten controls; Group II: twenty CCl4 induced cirrhotic rats and Group III: twenty cirrhotic rats treated with Vitamin E.
Interventions:
Experimental cirrhosis was induced in rats by subcutaneous administration of 0.4 ml CCl4 (diluted 1:4 with olive oil) per kilogram body weight twice a week for 12 weeks.
Main Outcome Measures:
Histopathologically evaluation of liver, liver malondialdehyde and glutathione peroxidase levels and aspartate aminotransferase (SGOT), alanine aminotransferase (SGPT) and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) levels.
Results:
Histopathologic evaluation of liver samples demonstrated cirrhotic changes in CCl4 treated groups. The enzyme levels in Group II were significantly increased (p < 0.05) but it was insignificantly lower in the alpha tocopherol treated group III. In Group II, statistically significant increase in liver malondialdehyde levels was determined (p < 0.001).
Conclusion:
Our results demonstrate that alpha-T administration may protect liver against CCl4 induced cirrhosis.