Research Article

Hepatoprotective Effect of Pericarpium zanthoxyli Extract Is Mediated via Antagonism of Oxidative Stress

Figure 5

Effect of PZE on phosphorylation of ERK and Nrf2 and ARE luciferase activity. (a) Western blot analysis for phosphorylation of ERK and Nrf2. HepG2 cells were treated with 100 μg/ml PZE for the indicated time period. Equal protein loadings among the samples were verified by ERK and β-Actin immunoblotting. The relative levels of protein bands were measured by scanning densitometry. (b) Antioxidant response element- (ARE-) driven luciferase assay. HepG2 cells stably transfected with pGL4.37 were pretreated with 10–100 μg/ml PZE for 24 h, and luciferase activity in the cell lysates was subsequently measured. Data represent means ± SD of three separated experiment (, , significant as compared with control cells).
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