The Protective Effect of TOSCARE™ on Toxic Actions by Reactive Oxygen Species, Chemical and Heavy Metals

Toscano ( Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala ) and Ussuri thistle ( Cirsium japonicum var. maackii (Maxim.) Matsum.) are known to have a beneficial effect on the liver function possibly through antioxidant action. In the present study, the combined extract of both of the plants, named TOSCARE™ was prepared and its beneficial effect was tested by observing its effects on cytotoxicity induced by oxidative stress and chemical, and hepatotoxicity induced by heavy metals. TOSCARE™ inhibited the cell death of HepG2 cells by treatment with H 2 O 2 and also with Tacrine known to generating reactive oxygen species (ROS). In the same experiment, TOSCARE™ was observed to remove ROS and inhibit the increase of expression of cytochrome P450 1A1 and suppressed the decrease of expression of Bcl-2 and ERK. TOSCARE™ also showed the preventive effect on hepatotoxicity induced by heavy metals (Pb, Cd) in rats, which was supported by the blood chemistry data: aspartate aminotransferase from 301 ± 64.20 to 197.9 ± 21.95 U/L ( P < 0.05), lactate dehydrogenase from 313.00 ± 61.73 to 174.18 ± 21.76 U/L ( P < 0.05), and blood urea nitrogen from 27.78 ± 2.18 mg/ to 18.95 ± 0.74 mg/dL ( P < 0.05). The results obtained suggest that TOSCARE™ can have beneficial effect on cell and organ damages induced by ROS, chemicals and heavy metals. damage. Various methods are being tried to prevent the impairment of liver function. In Korea, various biomaterials have been studied for this purpose.