Lowering blood lipid and hepatoprotective activity of amentoflavone from Selaginella tamariscina in vivo

Amentoflavone (AF) isolated from Selaginella tamariscina was screened for antioxidant activities in vitro, and lowering blood lipid and hepatoprotective activity in vivo. AF had no antioxidant activity in DPPH and ABTS assay and poor reducing power in FRAP assay. Intragastric administration of AF (75 mg/kg body weight per day), ethyl acetate fraction of S. tamariscina (STEA) (150 mg/kg) and acidic extract of S. tamariscina (STAE) (150 mg/kg) to groups of hyperlipidemia mice for 21 days, they all significantly decreased the level of blood triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in serum. The level of blood high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) significantly increased (P<0.001). Intragastric administration of AF (200 mg/kg body weight per day), AF (100 mg/kg), and AF (50 mg/kg) to mice injected with carbon tetrachloride to induce acute hepatic injury for 8 days, the level of glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT) in group of AF (200 mg/kg) significantly decreased (P<0.001). The level of hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) in groups of AF (200, 100, and 50 mg/kg, respectively) significantly decreased (P<0.001), and the level of hepatic SOD only in group of AF (200 mg/kg) significantly increased (P<0.01). The result showed that AF had a high hypolipidemic activity and hepatoprotective effect in vivo.