Abstract: The protective effect of β-carotene on H2O2-induced liver injury in zebrafish was investigated. Liver injury model was induced by H2O2 at the proper concentration, and β-carotene at doses of 5, 10 and 20 μg/mL was used to suppress H2O2-induced damage. After 48 h of incubation, the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities and malondialdelyde (MDA) content were measured. Pathological changes in the liver were observed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. The relative mRNA expression levels of SOD, CAT, GSTP2 and Nrf2 were assessed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The results showed that H2O2 elevated the levels of ALT, AST and MDA and reduced the level of SOD. Compared with the model group, β-carotene decreased the levels of ALT, AST, and MDA and improved the activity of SOD. Moreover, β-carotene significantly ameliorated hepatic pathological changes and upregulated the relative mRNA expression levels of SOD, CAT, GSTP2 and Nrf2. Finally we conclude that β-carotene has a protective effect on liver injury induced by H2O2 in zebrafish.

Key words: β-carotene, H2O2, zebrafish, liver injury