Effects of caffeic acid phenetyl ester in experimental liver fibrosis

Caffeic Acid Phenetyl Ester (CAPE), a natural honeybee product, exhibits a spectrum of biological activities including anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-tumoral effects. In this study, we investigated the effect of CAPE in dimethylnitrosamine (DMN)-induced liver fibrosis.. Adult male Wistar-albino rats (250-300 g) were assigned into six groups randomly (n =10 for each group). Group 1: Control rats were injected 1 ml saline intraperitoneally (IP). Group 2 (n=10) were injected 10 ?mol/kg CAPE IP Group 3 (n=10) were injected %1 DMN (10 mg/kg) IP Group 4 (n=10) were injected 10 ?mol/kg CAPE IP, and then %1 DMN (10 mg/kg). Group 5 (n=10) were injected simultaneously 10 ?mol/kg CAPE and %1 DMN (10 mg/kg). Group 6 (n=10) were injected %1 DMN (10 mg/kg) IP, and then 10 ?mol/kg CAPE. Animals were sacrificed at the end of the experiment, and liver histopathology was evaluated by modified knodell classification (6 point). Fifty three rats completed the study. Rat livers in Group 1 and 2 showed normal histological appearance, whereas rat livers treated with DMN showed fibrosis (P=0,0001). There were no statistically significant difference in fibrosis between group 3 (5,62 ± 0,51) and 5 (5,22 ± 0,83) (P>0,05). Fibrosis was decreased in group 4 (2,90 ± 0.31) and 6 (3,28 ± 0,75) compared to group 3 (P=0,0001) while there was no significant difference in fibrosis between these groups (P>0,05). The results of our study indicate that DMN is a hepatotoxic drug, leading to prominent fibrosis, and CAPE prevents and degrades DMN-induced liver damage in rats. The results are promising and the molecule may also be effective in humans.