| Abstract: | Seven locally available edible mushrooms were screened for their hepatoprotective activities using paracetamol (APAP)-induced liver injury in the rat as a model of chemical hepatitis. A single oral dose of 1.0 g/kg of APAP was able to produce significantly elevated levels of serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT). Administraiton of 300 mg/kg of the extracts from Lentinus erodes, Grifola frondosa and Tricholoma lobayense could significantly reduce the APAP-induced acute elevation in the levels of SGPT and SGOT in rats. The mushroom crude drugs probably act to prevent the fall of hepatic reduced gluthanione (GSH) through some GSH-dependent enzymes and preserve the structural integrity of the cellular membrane of hepatocytes, or probably protect against paracetamol-induced liver injury through their antioxidant properties acting as a scavenger of free radicals even at low levels of GSH |
