Study On Phellinus Linteus Polysaccharide Extraction And Its Anti-Acute Alcoholic Liver Injury Effect In Mice

Phellinus linteus is medicinal fungus parasitic in the mulberry, which was recorded in traditional Chinese medicine works dating from the 7th century AD. In recent years, it attracts more and more attention with its excellent anti-tumor effects. Both in vitro and animal experiments showed that the polysaccharide extracted from Phellinus has anticancer, immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, hypoglycemic, and other pharmacological activities. Alcoholic liver disease is the major cause of liver disease in Western countries. In Asian countries, viral hepatitis is the major cause; Alcoholic liver disease is the second. There are a large number of people suffering from alcoholic liver disease worldwide, but there is no effective drug therapy yet.Objective: The present study was to investigate the effect of polysaccharide extracted from Phellinus on acute alcohol-induced liver injury and related mechanism in mice.Methods: Polysaccharide was extracted from the fruiting body of wild Phellinus linteus with hot water or enzyme solution. The polysaccharide samples were tested for total sugar, reducing sugar and protein content. Phellinus linteus Polysaccharide (PLP) samples of higher purity was selected for next study. PLP (0.25, 0.5, 1 g/kg) was given to mice by gavage for three times. Alcohol (5 g/kg) was administered orally 2 h after the each dose of PLP. All animals were sacrificed 8 h after the last alcohol administration. Liver injury was evaluated by biochemical and histopathological examination and ultrastructure changes of hepatocyte.Conclusion: The PLP sample extracted with hot water is purer than the PLP sample extracted with enzyme solution. PLP pretreatment significantly protected against acute alcohol-induced liver injury as evidenced by the decrease of elevated serum alanine aminotransferase and hepatic triglyceride, and the attenuation of histopathological changes in mice. In addition, PLP remarkably alleviated the formation of malondialdehyde, restored impaired antioxidant and mitochondrial degeneration was also inhibited. The protective effect of PLP on alcohol-induced hepatotoxicity may due to its ability to attenuate oxidative stress.