Abstract: 【Objective】 This study was aimed to verify the repairing effect of Nigella sativa seed extract regarding to alcoholic liver injury in mice, and explore its mechanism, so as to provide theoretical basis for its clinical development and research.【Method】 Fifty-six 3-week-old Kunming mice were randomly divided into 7 groups:Blank control group, model group, high, medium and low dose Nigella sativa seed extract groups, Nigella sativa seed powder group and silybin positive control group, with 8 mice in each group.Except for blank control group, the mice in other groups were given 10 mL/kg 60% alcohol by gavage, once a day for 15 consecutive days.On the 16th day, the mice in high, medium and low dose Nigella sativa seed extract groups were given 8, 4 and 2 mL/kg Nigella sativa seed extract, respectively, and the mice were sacrificed for 10 consecutive days.The liver index of mice in each group was calculated, the activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in serum were detected.Paraffin sections were prepared to observe the pathological changes of liver, the protein expression of NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 (NLRP3), cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase 1 (Caspase-1) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) were detected by Western blotting.【Result】 Compared with blank control group, the liver index of mice in model group was significantly increased (P<0.05), and the liver cells showed obvious granular degeneration, vesicular degeneration, nucleus lysis, unclear differentiation boundaries and disappearance of hepatic cords.The activities of ALT and AST in serum were significantly increased (P<0.05), the activity of SOD, CAT and GSH-Px were significantly decreased (P<0.05), indicating the liver damage model successfully established, and the expression of NLRP3, Caspase-1 and IL-1β proteins in liver were significantly increased (P<0.05).Compared with model group, the activity of ALT and AST in serum showed a downward trend in three dose Nigella sativa seed extract groups, and the activity of SOD, CAT and GSH-Px showed an upward trend, among which the above indicators in high-dose group were significantly different (P<0.05), the liver tissue structure was significantly improved, and the expression of NLRP3, Caspase-1 and IL-1β proteins were decreased significantly (P<0.05).【Conclusion】 High doses of Nigella sativa seed extract (8 mL/kg) could significantly increase the antioxidant levels in liver injury mice, and reduce the synthesis of IL-1β by inhibiting the expression of NLRP3 inflammatory body, thereby improving liver function and repairing damaged liver tissue structure.

Key words: Nigella sativa seed extract; mice; alcoholic liver injury; NLRP3 inflammatory body; interleukin-1β (IL-1β)