Objective:To study the protective effects of acanthoic acid (AA) against acute liver injury. Method: Sixty mice were andomly divided into six groups: the normal group

the ethanol model group

silymarin group (100 mg·kg-1)

high-dose AA group (30 mg·kg-1)

middle-dose AA group (10 mg·kg-1) and low-dose AA group (5 mg·kg-1). Each group received medicine by gavage every 12 hrs for a total of 3 doses.Except for normal group

the other mice were received 60% ethanol (5 g·kg-1) 1 h. After administrayion. The thehepatic pathological and biochemical index changes in rats were observed. Result: The high-dose AA group and the middle-dose AA group can reduce the level of ALT(25±6)

(31±8) U·L-1

AST(157±23)

(187±18) U·L-1

TNF-α(32±4.62)

(41±5.3) μg·L-1 and TG(190±23)

(257±23) mmol·L-1

which was compared with the model group

and showed a significant difference(P<0.001). Conclusion: The AA could protect mice from ethanol induced acute liver injury efficiently.