Octacosanol attenuates disrupted hepatic reactive oxygen species metabolism associated with acute liver injury progression in rats intoxicated with carbon tetrachloride.

We examined whether octacosanol, the main component of policosanol, attenuates disrupted hepatic reactive oxygen species metabolism associated with acute liver injury progression in rats intoxicated with carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)). In rats intoxicated with CCl(4) (1 ml/kg, i.p.), the activities of serum transaminases increased 6 h after intoxication and further increased at 24 h. In the liver of CCl(4)-intoxicated rats, increases in lipid peroxide (LPO) concentration and myeloperoxidase activity and decreases in superoxixde dismutase activity and reduced glutathione (GSH) concentration occurred 6 h after intoxication and these changes were enhanced with an increase in xanthine oxidase activity and a decrease in catalase activity at 24 h. Octacosanol (10, 50 or 100 mg/kg) administered orally to CCl(4)-intoxicated rats at 6 h after intoxication attenuated the increased activities of serum transaminases and the increased hepatic myeloperoxidase and xanthine oxidase activities and LPO concentration and the decreased hepatic superoxide dismutase and catalase activities and GSH concentration found at 24 h after intoxication dose-dependently. Octacosanol (50 or 100 mg/kg) administered to untreated rats decreased the hepatic LPO concentration and increased the hepatic GSH concentration. These results indicate that octacosanol attenuates disrupted hepatic reactive oxygen species metabolism associated with acute liver injury progression in CCl(4)-intoxicated rats.