ANTIHEPATOTOXIC ACTIVITY OF ICARISIDE-II, A CONSTITUENT OF EPIMEDIUM-KOREANUM

Icariside II, a flavonol glycoside, was isolated from the aerial part of Epimedium koreanum Nakai by the anti-hepatotoxic activity guided fractionation technique employing CCl4-intoxicated primary cultured rat hepatocytes as an assay system. Its anti-hepatotoxic activity was evaluated by measuring activity of glutamic pyruvic transaminase released from the CCl4-intoxicated primary cultured rat hepatocytes. Icariside II significantly reduced the activity of glutamic pyruvic transaminase released from the CCl4-intoxicated primary cultured rat hepatocytes and resulted in 78% recovery of the toxicity at the concentration of 200 mu M. The antihepatotoxic activity of icariside II on the CCl4-intoxicated primary cultured rat hepatocytes was as potent as that of silybin.