Hepatoprotective and Antioxidant Activity of the Total Flavonoids Extraction from Hypericum japonicum by Response Surface Methodology

Hypericum japonicum was usually used to treat hepatitis in folk medicine. The aim of this study is to evaluate the hepatoprotective and antioxidant activities of Hypericum japonicum against CCl4-induced liver injury. Box-Behnken design (BBD) was used to optimize the extraction conditions (time: 60 min, power: 300W, ethanol concentration: 80 % and ratio of solid to liquid: 20 g/mL) of high antioxidant total flavonoids content (TFC). Total flavonoids were analyzed for its hepatoprotective effects against CCl4-induced liver injury in mice. Activities were measured by monitoring levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) in the liver tissue and HE staining was applied to evaluate anti-hepatic injury. It was found significantly positive in a dose-dependent manner. Finally, HPLC-MS/MS was achieved to analyze the chemical composition of the active flavonoids (quercitrin, isoquercitrin, quercetin, kaempferol, hyperin and quercetin-7-O-rhamnoside). This study suggests that Hypericum japonicum have a potent hepatoprotective activity against CCl4-induced hepatic damage.