Background: Liver ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury occurs during major liver
surgery, transplantation or following haemorrhagic shock with subsequent fluid
resuscitation. Liver steatosis is a risk factor in liver transplantation and liver
resection. Aim: This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of N-acetylcysteine
(NAC) on hepatic I/R injury in both normal and steatotic rat livers. Material and
methods: 48 male wistar rats, divided into 2 equal groups, steatosis was induced in
one of them by high cholesterol diet for 8 weeks. Each of these 2 groups was
subdivided into 3 subgroups; control, I/R, I/R+ NAC groups. At the end of
experiment, liver enzymes, inflammatory, lipid peroxidation and oxidative parameters
were assessed and histopathological examination of liver samples was done to prove
the incidence of steatosis. Results: NAC produced significant reduction in liver
enzymes, inflammatory, lipid peroxidation parameters and significant increase in
antioxidant parameters in both normal and steatotic rats. Conclusion: NAC may be
considered as a promising therapeutic candidate for chemoprevention of hepatic I/R
injury through its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antifibrotic, antiapoptic and
antisteatotic effects in either normal or steatotic livers.