Effects of Gomisin A on Liver Functions in Hepatotoxic Chemicals-Treated Rats

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Abstract
The effects of gomisin A, which is a lignan component of schizandra fruits, on liver functions in various experimental liver injuries and on bile secretion in CCl4-induced liver injury were studied. Gomisin A weakly accelerated the disappearance of plasma ICG [indocyanine green] by itself at a high dose (100 mg/kg, i.p.). All of the hepatotoxic chemicals used in this study inhibited the excretion of ICG from plasma. Gomisin A showed a tendency to prevent the delays of the disappearance of plasma ICG induced by CCl4, d-galactosamine and orotic acid, but not that by ANIT [.alpha.-naphthylisothiocyanate]. Bile flow and biliary outputs of total bile acids and electrolytes (Na+, K+, Cl- and HCO3-) were decreased in CCl4-treated rats. Gomisin A maintained bile flow and biliary output of each electrolyte nearly to the level of the vehicle-treated group, but did not affect biliary output of total bile acids. These findings sugest that gomisin A possesses a liver function-facilitating property in normal and liver injured rats and that its preventive action on CCl4-induced cholestasis is due to maintaining the function of the bile acids-independent fraction.