the protective effects of epigallocatechin gallate on lipopolysa ccharide-induced hepatotoxicity: an in vitro study on hep3b cells

objective(s): in the present study, our aim was to investigate the possible protective effects of epigallocatechin gallate (egcg) on lipopolysaccharide (lps)-induced hepatotoxicity by using hep3b human hepatoma cells. specifically, the study examines the role of some proinflammatory markers and oxidative damage as possible mechanisms of lps-associated cytotoxicity. consequently, the hepatocellular carcinoma cell line hep3b was chosen as a model for investigation of lps toxicity and the effect of egcg on lps-exposed cells. materials and methods:the hep3b human hepatoma cells were used for this study. the cytotoxic effects of chemicals (egcg and lps), ast and alt levels, sod and cat activities, gsh-px level and tnf-alpha and il-6 levels were detected by using different biochemical and molecular methods. lps and egcg were applied to cells at various times and doses. results:the highest treatment dose of egcg (400 µm) led to a dramatic decrease in sod level and increase in cat and gsh levels. additionally, the highest dose of egcg also led to a dramatic increase in tnf-alpha and il-6 levels. on the other hand, effective doses of egcg (200 and 100 µm) normalized all related parameters levels. conclusion:lps caused hepatotoxicity, but interestingly, a high dose of egcg was found to be a cytotoxic agent in this study. however, other two doses of egcg led to a decrease in both inflammatory cytokine levels and antioxidant enzyme levels. further studies should examine the effect of egcg on secondary cellular signaling pathways.