Ameliorative effects of D-glucuronolactone on oxidative stress and inflammatory/fibrogenic responses in livers of thioacetamide-treated rats

D-Glucuronolactone (C6H8O6, lactone), naturally found in plant gums, is commercially acclaimed for its hepatoprotective effects. This study was to investigate whether lactone can attenuate thioacetamide (TAA)-induced liver fibrosis in a rat model. Results showed that lactone supplementation (75 mg kg−1 bw glucuronolactone) alleviated AST values in TAA-intraperitoneally-injected rats (100 mg kg−1 bw TAA) and increased antioxidant capacity of liver via elevations of antioxidant enzymes activities [superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx)], glutathione (GSH) and trolox equivalent antioxidative capacity (TEAC) levels (p <0.05). Down-regulated (p <0.05) expression of inflammation including interleukin-6 (IL-6), nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), activator protein 1 (AP-1), krüppel-like factor 6 (KLF-6), and fibrosis related fibrotic factors, i.e., alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and collagen alpha1 (I) (COLα1) through lactone supplementation underlay the lower collagen contents and less severe liver damage on histopathology observations. Therefore, hepatoprotection of lactone against TAA-induced liver fibrosis can be attributed to the amelioration of oxidative stress and inflammation.