Protective effects of the fractions extracted from the callus of Acer nikoense Maxim. on alpha-naphthylisothiocyanate induced liver injury]

It has been reported that the methanol extract from the bark of Acer nikoense MAXIM. (AN) and the fractions separated from this extract showed the protection for liver injuries induced by carbontetrachloride (CCl4) in rat. On the other hand, the evidence manifested that the fractions of the callus of young branches from AN were recognized to have protective effects on the CCl4-induced liver injuries in rat. In this study, the protective activities of the fractions extracted from the callus of AN were investigated on the alpha-naphthylisothiocyanate (ANIT)-induced liver injuries in rat. The protectively active principles on the ANIT-induced liver injuries were found in the ether soluble fraction. The components of the protective effect were purified by repeated silica gel chromatographies. One of the protective substances in this fraction was identified to be beta-sitosterol. The protective fractions on the ANIT-induced liver injuries showed the protective effects on ANIT-induced cholestasis, but did not show cholagogic effects.