Antioxidant activity and hepatoprotective effect of extracts from different parts of Hovenia dulcis Thunbergii

In this study, the antioxidant activity and hepatoprotective effect of Hovenia dulcis Thunbergii (H. dulcis) were compared according to parts (fruit, branch, leaf) and extraction solvents (water, ethanol). Antioxidant activity tended to increase in a concentration-dependent manner in all plant parts and extracts. In the case of the extraction solvent, the ethanol extract showed a higher level of antioxidant activity compared to the water extract. As a result of treating primary hepatocytes with water and ethanol extracts from each part of the plant at concentrations ranging from 0 to 500 mu g/mL, no toxicity was observed at any concentration. The cell viability decreased to 79.6% due to the toxicity induced by 10 mM acetaminophen. However, a higher survival rate was observed in the group treated with H. dulcis extract compared to the untreated group. Simultaneous treatment with H. dulcis extracts and acetaminophen resulted in decreased levels of HDL, ALT, and AST compared to samples treated with acetaminophen alone. The study found that the ethanol extract from the fruit exhibited a high level of antioxidant activity, while the water extract from the fruit showed a strong hepatoprotective effect. These results are expected to provide fundamental data for selecting the appropriate plant parts and extraction solvents for developing crude drug formulations and functional food materials with antioxidant and liver protection properties.