Abstract: In this experiment, the hepatoprotective effect of Pleurotus ostreatus polysaccharide (POP), prepared by hot water extraction, on CCl4-induced liver injury in mice was studied. Totally 48 male Kunming mice were randomly divided into 6 groups including blank control, model, positive control, and low-, medium- and high-dose POP (POP-L, POP-M and POP-H) groups. All treatments were administered orally for 28 consecutive days. On the 22nd and 23rd day, liver injury in all mice except those in the blank control group was induced by intraperitoneal injection of CCl4. On the 29th day, body mass was measured and all mice were sacrificed to harvest blood and liver tissue. The activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and the concentrations of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in serum were measured by commercial kits and then the liver index was calculated. Liver tissue homogenate was prepared to measure the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and the activities of total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) using commercial kits. The results showed that compared with the model group, POP treatment at each dose attenuated body mass loss and the swelling degree of liver, decreased significantly serum ALT, AST and ALP activities (P < 0.01) as well as TC, TG and LDL-C concentrations (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), and increased significantly HDL-C concentration (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Moreover, it significantly decreased MDA level and increased T-SOD, T-AOC, CAT and GSH-Px in liver homogenate (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). In conclusion, POP has significant protective effects against CCl4-induced liver injury in male Kunming mice.

Key words: Pleurotus ostreatus polysaccharide, carbon tetrachloride, liver injury, liver protection