Abstract: Objective: To investigate the protective effects of fibrinolytic enzyme from Lyophyllum ulmarium (LUFE) on alcohol-induced liver injury in rats. Methods: Rats were randomly divided into four groups: normal control group, model group, and low- and high-dose LUFE groups. All rats except those in the normal control group were administered orally with 40% alcohol at a dose of 10 mL/kg mb body mass daily to induce liver injury. The animals in the low and high-dose LUFE groups were respectively treated with LUFE at doses of 100 and 400 mg/kg mb body mass, and those in the normal control group and the model group were given the same volume of normal saline by gavage for 28 days. The rats were sacrificed on the next day after the last administration, and the liver was dissected out to observe pathological morphological changes by hematoxylin-eosin staining and blood was withdrawn for detection of the levels of alanine transaminase (ALT) activity, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity, albumin (Alb) concentration, γ-glutamyltranspeptidase (γ-GT) activity, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, total bilirubin (T-BIL) concentration, triglyceride (TG) concentration, total cholesterol (T-CHO) concentration, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) concentration and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) concentration. The expression level of inhibitory kappa B-alpha (I-κBα) protein and the phosphorylation level of nuclear factor (NF)-κB p65 were determined using Western blot assay. Results: LUFE alleviated liver the pathological damage, and inhibited the alcohol-induced increase in AST, ALT, γ-GT and ALP activities as well as TG, T-CHO, LDL-C and T-BIL levels and the alcohol-induced decrease in Alb level in the serum, with a significant inhibitory effect being observed at the high dose (P < 0.05 or 0.01). The Western blot results showed that LUFE increased the expression level of I-κBα protein and decreased the phosphorylation level of NF-κB p65 protein significantly at the dose (P < 0.05 or 0.01). Conclusion: LUFE has a protective effect on alcohol-induced liver injury in rats, and the underlying mechanism may be related to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

Key words: Lyophyllum ulmarium; fibrinolytic enzyme; alcohol; liver injury