CAROTENOIDS PROTECT CULTURED RAT HEPATOCYTES FROM INJURY CAUSED BY CARBON-TETRACHLORIDE

Carotenoids are proposed to have antioxidant activities. The present s tudy was therefore designed to determine whether carotenoids have a pr otective effect on CCl4-induced hepatocyte injury in vitro. Primarily cultured rat hepatocytes were exposed to medium containing the caroten oids (alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lycopene and lutein) (10(-7)-10(- 5) M) with or without CCl4 (1.5 mM). The release of glutamic pyruvic t ransaminase and lactic dehydrogenase into medium and the formation of malondialdehyde were examined as indices of cell injury. CCl4 induced the release of glutamic pyruvic transaminase and lactic dehydrogenase into the medium in a dose-dependent fashion. All the carotenoids studi ed protected cultured rat hepatocytes from CCl4-induced injury based o n a reduction of glutamic pyruvic transaminase and lactic dehydrogenas e release into the medium and suppression of lipid peroxidation. They also improved the survival of hepatocytes. This study suggests that al pha-carotene, beta-carotene, lycopene and lutein have protective effec ts on oxidant-induced injury of hepatocytes.