Abstract
Oxidative stress mediated mitochondrial dysfunction is the most common pathway leading to the destruction of hepatic architecture during cirrhosis. The present study was designed to evaluate the restorative potential of cabbage-extracted sulforaphane against diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced hepatic mitochondrial dysfunction in rats. Sulforaphane (SFN) was extracted from cabbage seedlings and its structure was characterized by UV, IR and GC spectrophotometry. The antioxidant activity of SFN was evaluated in vitro by alpha, alpha-diphenyl-beta-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging method. The restorative effect of SFN on DEN-induced mitochondrial dysfunction in rats was determined in comparison with silymarin. Serum albumin, alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) were determined. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and lipid peroxidation were evaluated in liver tissue, besides the level of reduced glutathione and the activity of both catalase and glutathione peroxidase. The concentration of cytochrome C was measured in liver tissue using ELISA. The activities of respiratory chain complexes I, II, Ill and IV were estimated in the mitochondrial fractions. The expressions of 8-Hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and caspase 3 were determined immunohistochemically.Administration of cabbage-extracted SFN to DEN-induced hepatotoxic rats either preventive or therapeutic led to improve the activity of mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes, decrease the expression of 8-OHdG and caspase 3 and ameliorate liver function and histology.Our findings suggest that cabbage extracted SFN repairs mitochondrial dysfunction induced by DEN in rats and maximize the efficacy of silymarin as a hepatoprotective.