Hepatoprotective Effect of Ganoderma applanatum Crude Polysaccharides on Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Early Liver Fibrosis in Mice

Introduction: Liver fibrosis is a treatable disease when still at early stages. Ganoderma applanatum plays role as alternative medicine. The fungi have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer bioactivities. This study aimed to evaluate the hepatoprotective effects of G. applanatum crude polysaccharides (GACP) on liver fibrosis due to CCl4 induction. Methods: This study was divided into six groups. BALB/c mice were given CCl4 dissolved in olive oil (2 mL/kg; 1:3) intraperitoneally (i.p) twice a week for four weeks to produce a liver fibrosis model. Distilled water (control group), silymarin 100 mg/kg and GACP 25, 50, 100 mg/kg were given once daily for four weeks. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), tumor necrosis-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Histopathology was stained by hematoxylin & eosin (H&E) and Masson’s trichome. Results: The administration of GACP effectively prevented ALT, AST, TNF-α, and IL-6 levels from high elevation. Additionally, the GACP had protective effect after liver histological analysis exhibited less injury in the liver tissue. Conclusion: The hepatoprotective effect of GACP on liver fibrosis is mainly due to avoid high elevation of pro-inflammatory cytokine. This result revealed that GACP could be a potential hepatoprotective agent for later clinical therapy.