Fig. 2. Silibinin feeding provided marginal hepatoprotective effects in male and female DEN-initiated mice, and exacerbated carcinogenesis when combined with ethanol.
(a) Representative images of livers resected from male and female DEN-initiated mice (48 weeks) maintained on dietary silibinin alone or in combination with ethanol feeding. (b) Liver injury was blind-scored from representative H and E (c) and Picosirius red sections (Suppl. Fig. 2) (2 lobes/mouse, 5 fields/lobe) from each experimental group to generate a total liver injury score (TLIS) (d) Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity was measured. (S; dietary silibinin, D; DEN-initiated, DS; DEN-initiated/dietary silibinin, DES; DEN-initiated/dietary silibinin/EtOH). n≥5 animals/group, p<.05 S vs D, DS and DES in male and female groups, # p<.05 male vs female, § p<.05 DES vs D and DS.