Figure 1. Serum levels of aspartate transaminase (AST) served as markers of hepatocyte injury. AST levels were measured after 75 or 120 minutes of ischemia and 3 hours of reperfusion. Similar protection was observed after 75 minutes of ischemia in the intermittent clamping group (Interm.) and the ischemic preconditioning group (I/Pr) (P = .4, Tukey). After 120 minutes of ischemia, intermittent clamping was superior to both other groups. Continuous ischemia (Control) was associated with the highest AST levels after both ischemic periods (P < .001, analysis of variance) (mean ± standard error, n = 5 per group).