Ginsenoside compound K alleviates sodium valproate-induced hepatotoxicity in rats via antioxidant effect, regulation of peroxisome pathway and iron homeostasis.

Sodium valproate (SVP) is a first-line treatment for various forms of epilepsy; however, it can cause severe liver injury. Ginsenoside compound K (G-CK) is the main active ingredient of the traditional herbal medicine ginseng. According to our previous research, SVP-induced elevation of ALT and AST levels, as well as pathological changes of liver tissue, was believed to be significantly reversed by G-CK in LiCl-pilocarpine induced epileptic rats. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the protective effect of G-CK on hepatotoxicity caused by SVP. The rats treated with SVP showed liver injury with evident increases in hepatic index, transaminases activity, alkaline phosphatase level, hepatic triglyceride and lipid peroxidation; significant decreases in plasma albumin level and antioxidant capacity; and obvious changes in histopathological and subcellular structures. All of these changes could be mitigated by co-administration with G-CK. Proteomic analysis indicated that hepcidin, soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH, UniProt ID P80299), and the peroxisome pathway were involved in the hepatoprotective effect of G-CK. Changes in protein expression of hepcidin and sEH were verified by ELISA and Western blot analysis, respectively. In addition, we observed that the hepatic iron rose in SVP group and decreased in the combination group. In summary, our findings demonstrate the clear hepatoprotective effect of G-CK against SVP-induced hepatotoxicity through the antioxidant effect, regulation of peroxisome pathway relying on sEH (P80299) downregulation, as well as regulation of iron homeostasis dependent on hepcidin upregulation.