TY - JOUR AB - Hawk tea (Litsea coreana Levl. var. lanuginose) is a traditional Chinese drink similar to green tea. In the present study, the preventive effects of Hawk tea on hepatic damage induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) were studied in Sprague‑Dawley rats. Silymarin was used as a positive control. Hawk tea was successfully shown to prevent hepatic damage in the rats. Serum levels of AST, ALT and LDH were significantly decreased when the rats were treated with varying concentrations of Hawk tea compared with silymarin (P<0.05). The lowest enzyme activities were exhibited in the 400 mg/kg Hawk tea group. This group showed reduced levels of the serum proinflammatory cytokines IL‑6, IFN‑γ and TNF‑α. In particular, the IFN‑γ level decreased markedly compared with the other concentration groups. The histopathology sections of liver tissue in the 400 mg/kg Hawk tea group recovered well from the CCl4 damage, but the sections of the other concentration groups showed necrosis to a more serious degree. Reverse transcription‑polymerase chain reaction (RT‑PCR) and western blot analyses of the inflammation‑related genes iNOS, COX‑2, TNF‑α and IL‑1β in the rat livers were tested. The 400 mg/kg Hawk tea group showed significantly decreased mRNA and protein expression levels of iNOS, COX‑2, TNF‑α and IL‑1β compared with the control group. Accordingly, 400 mg/kg Hawk tea potentially contributes to the prevention of CCl4‑induced hepatic damage in vivo. A 200 or 100 mg/kg dose of Hawk tea also demonstrated preventive effects against hepatic damage. AD - Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University of Education, Chongqing 400067, P.R. China AU - Zhao,Xin DA - 2013/02/01 DO - 10.3892/etm.2012.840 EP - 560 IS - 2 JO - Exp Ther Med KW - Hawk tea hepatic damage CCl4 cytokines inflammation PY - 2013 SN - 1792-0981 1792-1015 SP - 555 ST - Hawk tea (Litsea coreana Levl. var. lanuginose) attenuates CCl4‑induced hepatic damage in Sprague‑Dawley rats T2 - Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine TI - Hawk tea (Litsea coreana Levl. var. lanuginose) attenuates CCl4‑induced hepatic damage in Sprague‑Dawley rats UR - https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2012.840 VL - 5 ER -