Lipid peroxidation induced by CCl4administration is one of the
major causes of liver fibrosis (Weber et al., 2003). Treatment with
CCl4resulted in an approximately fivefold increase in the thiobarituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS) concentration (0.158 nmol/
mg) compared with the control (0.030 nmol/mg). Cotreatment
with CCl4and 0.5%, 1%, and 2% MWE significantly decreased the TBARS level to 0.038, 0.03, and 0.01 nmol/mg, respectively (Fig. 3).
In addition, silymarin noticeably reduced CCl4-induced TBARS formation. Cotreatment with 2% MWE resulted in a TBARS formation
that is lower than that obtained from the cotreatment with silymarin. These findings indicate that MWE and silymarin both modulate CCl4-induced lipid metabolism and peroxidation