Antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects of punicalagin and punicalin on acetaminophen-induce liver damage in rats

Punicalagin and punicalin were isolated from the leaves of Terminalia catap pa L,, a Combretaceous plant distributed throughout tropical and subtropica l beaches, which is used for the treatment of dermatitis and hepatitis, Our previous studies showed that both of these compounds exert antioxidative a ctivity. In this study, the antihepatotoxic activity of punicalagin and pun icalin on acetaminophen-induced toxicity in the rat liver was evaluated. Af ter evaluating the changes of several biochemical functions in serum, the l evels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT ) were increased by acetaminophen administration and reduced by punicalagin and punicalin, Histological changes around the hepatic central vein and ox idative damage induced by acetaminophen were also recovered by both compoun ds, The data show that both punicalagin and punicalin exert antihepatotoxic activity, but treatment with larger doses enhanced liver damage. These res ults suggest that even if punicalagin and punicalin have antioxidant activi ty at small doses, treatment with larger doses will possibly induce some ce ll toxicities. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.