Betulin inhibits lipopolysaccharide/D-galactosamine-induced acute liver injury in mice through activating PPAR-γ.

Betulin is a phenolic flavonoid which has been reported to possess a mass of pharmacological properties, especially anti-inflammatory activity. The purpose of this study was to explore the protective effects and possible mechanism of betulin against lipopolysaccharide/D-galactosamine (LPS/D-Gal)-induced acute liver injury. D-Gal and LPS were intraperitoneally injected to develop acute liver injury animal model. Betulin (2, 4 or 8 mg/kg) were given 1 h before LPS/D-Gal instillation. Liver tissues and plasma samples were collected 9 h after LPS/D-Gal were given. The results indicated that betulin dramatically decreased liver pathologic changes, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels. Simultaneously, the levels of interleukin (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) in serum and liver tissues were both attenuated by betulin. Besides, betulin suppressed NF-κB pathway activation in a dose-dependently manner. Betulin increased the expression of PPAR-γ in a dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, all these results revealed that betulin could possess potential therapeutic effect for LPS/D-Gal-induced acute liver injury.