• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.105-111
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• 2004

Green tea catechin (GTC) is known to have a wide variety of pharmacological activites. In the present study, the effects of GTC on acute hepatotoxicity induced by carbon tetrachloride ($CCl_4$) and galactosamine were examined in rats. Two doses (50 or 100 mg/kg) of GTC were administered to rats orally for 3 days befor or after the induction of hepatotoxicity. A hepatotoxicity was induced by the inpraperitoneal injection of the $CCl_4$ (0.5 ml/kg) or galactosamine (400 mg/kg). GTC(50 mg/kg) reduced the aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level of the $CCl_4$-intoxicated rats in the pre-treatment group (from 262${\pm}$11, 80${\pm}$19 to 153${\pm}$22, 55${\pm}$25), and also in the post-treatment group (from 156${\pm}$40, 105${\pm}$3 to 106${\pm}$22, 55${\pm}$9), respectively. And GTC (50 mg/kg) also reduced the levels of AST and ALT in both pre-treatment (from 576${\pm}$24, 276${\pm}$68 to 236${\pm}$13, 115${\pm}$13) and post-treatment (from 233${\pm}$54, 137${\pm}$11 to 119${\pm}$23, 44${\pm}$17) when induced by galactosamine. GTC also showed the inhibition of pathogenesis of hepatocyte of $CCl_{4^-}$ and galatosamine-intoxicated rat. These results suggest that green tea catechin (GTC) may be useful fur the prevention and therapy of hepatotoxic pathogenesis.