Abstract: Objective: To study the anti-alcoholic and hepatoprotective effects of polyphenols from the fruit of Rosa roxburghii Tratt. (RRTP) in rats with acute alcoholism (AAH). Methods: Rats were randomly assigned to six groups: normal, model, positive control (Haiwangjinzun, a commercial dietary supplement with hepatoprotective potency; 100 mg/(kg mb·d)), and low-, medium- and high-dose RRTP (50, 100 and 200 mg/(kg mb·d)). After oral administration for 30 days, all rats except those in the normal group were administered by gavage with Chinese Baijiu with 56% (V/V) alcohol at a dose of 15 mL/kg mb to establish an AAH model. Instead, physiological saline was given to the normal group. At 30, 60, 90 and 120 min after administration of Baijiu, blood was collected from the tail vein to detect its alcohol concentration. At 12 h post-administration, blood and liver samples were collected for the detection of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and triglyceride (TG) levels in serum as well as the activities of ethanol metabolism-related enzymes and antioxidant enzymes in liver. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was performed to observe pathological changes of liver tissues. The?relative?mRNA?expression?levels?of?nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) were?measured by?real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: The levels of alcohol, ALT, AST and TG in serum and the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) in liver were decreased in the RRTP treatment groups when compared with the model group, while the activities of alcohol dehydrogenase, acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase and the content of glutathione were increased. Moreover, RRTP upregulated the relative mRNA expression levels of Nrf2 and HO-1 and ameliorated?hepatic pathological changes. Conclusion: In AAH rats, RRTP exhibits anti-alcoholic and hepatoprotective effects, and the underlying mechanism may be related to accelerating alcohol metabolism and enhancing antioxidant function.

Key words: polyphenols from the fruit of Rosa roxburghii Tratt.; acute alcoholism; anti-alcoholic effect; hepatoprotective effect