Hepatoprotective effects of chamazulene against alcohol-induced liver damage by alleviation of oxidative stress in rat models

Liver injury and disease caused by alcohol is a common complication to human health worldwide. Chamazulene is a natural proazulene with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This study aims to investigate the hepatoprotective effects of chamazulene against ethanol-induced liver injury in rat models. Adult Wistar rats were orally treated with 50% v/v ethanol (8–12 mL/kg body weight [b.w.]) for 6 weeks to induce alcoholic liver injury. Chamazulene was administered orally to rats 1 h prior to ethanol administration at the doses of 25 and 50 mg/kg b.w. for 6 weeks. Silymarin, a commercial drug for hepatoprotection, was orally administered (50 mg/kg b.w.) for the positive control group. Chamazulene significantly reduced ( < 0.05) the levels of serum alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and malondialdehyde, whereas the levels of antioxidant enzymes (glutathione peroxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase) and reduced glutathione were significantly restored ( < 0.05) in contrast to the ethanol model group. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumour necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6) were suppressed by chamazulene ( < 0.05) with relevance to ethanol-induced liver injury. Histopathological alterations were convincing in the chamazulene-treated groups, which showed protective effects against alcoholic liver injury. Chamazulene has a significant hepatoprotective effect against ethanol-induced liver injury through alleviation of oxidative stress and prevention of inflammation.