Abstract:

The objective of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of perilla (Perilla frutescens) seed on acute
hepatic injury induced by carbon tetrachloride. Identification of potential biomarkers was performed by high-performance
liquid chromatography (HPLC) and flow injection electrospray ionization with time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry
(FIMS) combined with principal component analysis (PCA). Blood and hepatic tissue metabolic profiles were acquired
and correlated with the biochemical and histopathological results. In this work, metabolomic profiling, and biochemical
and histopathological studies together confirmed the liver protective effect of perilla seed. Perilla seed at a dose equivalent
to 20 g/kg per day caused a similar effect to that of bifendate (3.5 mg/kg per day). Compared with normal control group,
the expression of LysoPC, LysoPE, PA, carnitine, citric acid, inosine, methylated nucleoside, and taurohyocholate were
increased significantly in model group, whereas the opposite results were observed for the animals which had given perilla
seed extract. These findings indicated that the developed metabonomic method based on FIMS might be used as a potentially
powerful tool for fast and comprehensive estimation of the liver protective effect of perilla seeds.

Key words: perilla seed, flow injection, mass spectrometry, acute hepatic injury, metabonomics, principal component analysis