Improvement effect of Biluochun tea active extract on CCl4-induced acute liver injury

Biluochun tea is reported to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, while its effect on liver disease remains unknown. In this study, a CCl₄-induced acute liver injury mouse model with five experimental groups (normal control group, CCl₄ group, low-dose Biluochun tea group, high-dose Biluochun tea group, and silymarin positive control group) were established to evaluate the hepatoprotective effects of Biluochun bioactive extract. Furthermore, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was utilized for qualitative analysis of the major bioactive components in the extract. The results showed that Biluochun active extracts improved organ damage caused by CCl₄; decreased the LDL-C, AST, ALT, AKP, IL-1β, IL-6, and IFN-γ levels, and increased HDL-C and IL-10 levels in serum; it also down-regulated the mRNA expressions of NFκB-p65, IL-1β, IL-12, TNF-α, TGF-β, and NOS, and up-regulated the expressions of IL-10, IκB-α, Bcl-2, and GSH in liver tissue; HPLC analysis found that the main constituents in this extract were myricetin, quercetin, and hesperetin. In conclusion, the Biluochun tea active extract could effectively improve the acute liver damage induced by CCl₄, and the improvement mechanism may be related to the physiological activities of myricetin, quercetin, and hesperetin in the crude extract.