Protective effects of capillary artemisia polysaccharide on oxidative injury to the liver in rats with obstructive jaundice

Obstructive jaundice is a condition caused by blockage of the flow of bile out of the liver. This results in an overflow of bile and its by-products into the blood, and bile excretion from the body is incomplete. Untreated, obstructive jaundice can lead to serious infection that spreads to other parts of the body. We examined the protective effect of capillary artemisia polysaccharide on oxidative damage to the liver in growing rats with obstructive jaundice (OJ). Growing male Wistar rats (n=40, age 3–4 weeks) were randomly divided into four groups (n=10 in each group): normal control group, sham group, OJ group and OJ with capillary artimesia polysaccha-ride treatment group (study group). The rats of the OJ group and the study group were subjected to common bile dust ligation, while the sham group had the bile duct mobilized but not ligated. The rats of the study group recieved 5 ml/kg capillary artimesia polysaccharide (0.5 g/ml) by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection once daily while the other groups were administered 5 ml/kg saline by i.p. injection. After 4 weeks, the rats were sacrificed to obtain liver weight and to compute the liver coefficient. Additional measures included liver homogenate malondialdehyde (MDA) and the activity levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase (CAT). The liver weight and liver coefficient of rats in the study group were lower than those in the OJ group and higher than those in the control and sham groups (P<0.05). Liver homogenate MDA content in the study group rats was lower than that in the OJ group and higher than that in the control and sham group (P<0.05). SOD, GSH-Px and CAT activities were higher in the study group rats than those in the OJ group and lower than those in other groups (P<0.05). Capillary artimesia capillary artemisia polysaccharide protects the liver from oxidative damage and improves antioxidant defense in growing rats with obstructive jaundice.