Aim: The objective of this study was to examine whether MT plays a protective role against the damage in the liver by administering carbontetrachloride (CCl4) to rats.
Main method: 28 male Wistar albino (n=28, 8weeks old) rats have been used in the study. The rats were distributed into 4 groups according to their live weights. The groups were: (i) negative control (NC): normal water consuming group to which no CCl4 and milk thistle (MT) is administered; (ii) positive control (PC): normal water consuming group to which no CCl4 is administered but MT is administered; (iii) CCl4 group: normal water consuming and group to which CCl4 is administered (2ml/kg live weight, ip); and (iv) CCl4+MT group: CCl4 and MT administered group (2ml/kg live weight, ip). Caspase-3, caspase-9, bax, and bcl-2 protein syntheses were examined via western blotting. MDA determination in liver tissue was made using spectrophotometer.
Key findings: MDA amount has decreased in the CCl4+MT group in comparison to CCl4 group whereas caspase-3 and caspase-9 has increased and bax and bcl-2 has decreased.
Significance: These results show that MT protects the liver against oxidative damage.
Keywords: Bax; Bcl-2; Caspase-3; Caspase-9; Liver damage; Milk thistle.
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