Abstract
Ellagic acid has been proven to have anticancer, antimutation, antimicrobial and antiviral functions. The present study investigated whether treatment with ellagic acid was able to prevent tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced cirrhosis through the inhibition of reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and angiogenesis. CCl4 diluted in olive oil at a final concentration of 10% was used to induce a cirrhosis model. A total of 40 mice were random allocated into four groups, as follows: Control, cirrhosis model, 7.5 mg/kg ellagic acid and 15 mg/kg ellagic acid groups. In the control group, mice were given normal saline. The results indicated that ellagic acid exerted a protective effect, evidently preventing CCl4-induced cirrhosis. In addition, treatment with ellagic acid significantly inhibited collagen I and inducible nitric oxide synthase protein expression levels in CCl4-induced cirrhosis mice. Oxidative stress and ROS formation were also significantly reduced by ellagic acid treatment. The protein expression levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2), and the caspase-3 activity were significantly inhibited by treatment with ellagic acid. In conclusions, these results suggest that ellagic acid exerted protective effects against CCl4-induced cirrhosis through the inhibition of ROS formation and angiogenesis.