Kim, Seok-Joo;Kim, So-Jin;Kim, Kang-Min;Lee, Sun-Mee
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This study examined the effects of baicalin, a bioactive flavonoid isolated from Scutellaria baicalensis, on hepatic injury caused by ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) in alcoholic fatty liver. Rats were fed an ethanol liquid diet or a control isocaloric diet for 5 weeks, and then subjected to 60 min of hepatic ischemia and 5 h of reperfusion. Baicalin (200 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally 24 and 1 h before ischemia. After reperfusion, baicalin attenuated the increase in serum alanine aminotransferase activity. The levels of cytosolic cytochrome c protein expression, caspase-3 activity, the number of apoptotic cells increased after reperfusion, which were higher in ethanol-fed animals, were attenuated by baicalin. Following I/R, the hepatic lipid peroxidation was elevated, whereas hepatic glutathione content was decreased. These changes attenuated by baicalin. In ethanol-fed animals, baicalin augmented the increases in heme oxygenase-1 protein and mRNA expressions, and nuclear Nrf2 expression. In conclusion, our findings suggest that baicalin ameliorates I/R-induced hepatocellular damage by suppressing apoptosis and oxidative stress in alcoholic fatty liver.