Yein-Hua Shien Ying-Chin Lin *Song-Chow Lin **Yun-Ho Lin
Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Medical Collage Hospital
*Department of Pharmacology, **Department of Pathology,
Taipei Medical College
The hepatoprotective effects of Propolis was investigated on acute hepatitis induced in mice by a single dose of carbon tetrachloride. Male ICR mice weighting 25-30 gm were used for this experiment. All animals were purchased from the National laboratory. Animal Breeding and Research Center and kept at controlled condition with standard diet feeding for one week. Mice were randomly divided into five groups, ten to fourteen mice in each group. Group A received only corn oil (10ml/Kg,i.p.) and served as control. Group B-E received carbon tetrachloride/ corn oil solution (32ml/Kg, i.p.). Group A and B were treated with normal saline(10ml/Kg,p.o.)while group C -E received Propolis 1/10 , 3/10 and original concentration (10ml/Kg, p.o.), respectively. All animals surviving 24 hours after the administration of carbon tetrachloride were anesthetized with ethyl ether; blood samples were obtained by cardiac puncture and serum levels of SGPT, Triglyceride were measured using a Paramax autoanalyzer. Hepatoprotective activity was monitored by estimating the serum transaminase , and triglyceride levels, then confirmed with histopathological examination. After treatment with propolis, a reduction in the elevation of serum transaminase and triglyceride was observed. Histopathologically, the propolis extract significantly ameliorated the hepatotoxin-induced liver histopatholo- gical changes in the experimental animals. |