Enhancement of hepatic glutathione regeneration capacity by a lignan-enriched extract of fructus schisandrae in rats.

Exposure of liver homogenates to an in vitro tert-butyl hydroperoxide challenge can be used as a means for measuring the reduced glutathione regeneration capacity (GRC) of hepatic tissues. Pretreatment of rats with a lignan-enriched extract of Fructus Schisandrae (FS) caused a moderate enhancement of hepatic GRC in control rats, but the GRC enhancing effect of FS pretreatment on hepatic tissues was greatly exaggerated after CCl4 challenge. This in vitro bioassay can be used for investigating the hepatic GRC promoting action of orally active agents.