Assessment of the Potential Role of Silymarin Alone or in Combination with Vitamin E and/ or Curcumin on the Carbon Tetrachloride Induced Liver Injury in Rat

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to investigate the effective role of silymarin either alone or in a combination with vitamin E and/or curcumin against the toxic impact of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced liver injury The results revealed that administration of silymarin alone or in a combination with vitamin E and/or curcumin for 21 consecutive days, 24 h after CCl4 injection to rats, markedly ameliorated DNA damaged and apoptosis markers in rat livers, proinflammatory markers including tumor necrosis factor- α (TNF- α) and C-reactive protein (CRP ) in rat livers as well as interleukin 6 (IL-6), interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in rat sera. These treatments also could ameliorated the alteration in cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) activity in livers of CCl4 intoxicated rats as well as the increase in the serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) compared with CCl4 intoxicated untreated rats. The present biochemical results are supported by histo-pathological examination. In conclusion, silymarin in a combination with vitamin E and curcumin was the most effective treatment in alleviating CCl4 induced liver damage and this may support the use of this combination as an effective treatment against liver damage induced by toxic agents.