Protective effect of l-theanine on carbon tetrachloride-induced acute liver injury in mice

摘要

We studied effects of l-theanine, a unique amino acid in tea, on carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4)-induced liver injury in mice. The mice were pre-treated orally with l-theanine (50, 100 or 200mg/kg) once daily for seven days before CCl 4 (10ml/kg of 0.2% CCl 4 solution in olive oil) injection. l-theanine dose-dependently suppressed the increase of serum activity of ALT and AST and bilirubin level as well as liver histopathological changes induced by CCl 4 in mice. l-theanine significantly prevented CCl 4-induced production of lipid peroxidation and decrease of hepatic GSH content and antioxidant enzymes activities. Our further studies demonstrated that l-theanine inhibited metabolic activation of CCl 4 through down-regulating cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1). As a consequence, l-theanine inhibited oxidative stress-mediated inflammatory response which included the increase of TNF-α and IL-1β in sera, and expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in livers. CCl 4-induced activation of apoptotic related proteins including caspase-3 and PARP in mouse livers was also prevented by l-theanine treatment. In summary, l-theanine protects mice against CCl 4-induced acute liver injury through inhibiting metabolic activation of CCl 4 and preventing CCl 4-induced reduction of anti-oxidant capacity in mouse livers to relieve inflammatory response and hepatocyte apoptosis.