Hepatoprotective and Antioxidant Capacities of Paecilomyces japonica and Cordyceps sinensis in Rats with CCl4-Induced Hepatic Injury

Abstract

Antioxidant and hepatoprotective activities of the fruiting bodies of Paecilomyces japonica (PJ) grown on silk-worm larvae and of Cordyceps sinensis (CS), a wild form of Cordyceps, were investigated. The 70% ethanol extracts of both fungi, PJ and CS, were found to exhibit free radical scavenging effects on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). The inhibitory potency Of PJ (IC50 = 163 mu g.mL(-1)) was approximately 4.5 folds that of CS (IC50 = 731 mu g.mL(-1)). They exhibited a moderate decrease in serum transaminase activities elevated by hepatic damage induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-intoxication in rats. Both fungal extracts also exhibited not only significant increases in hepatic superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase at a dose of 300 mg.kg(-1) in CCl4-intoxicated rats, but also a significant decrease in malondialdehyde (MDA) production in a thiobarbituric acid (TBA) reactant assay in rats. Although no significant glutathione peroxidase (GSH-px) activity was detected, SOD and catalase elevations were obtained.