The antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects of 70% ethanol extracts from Panax notoginseng roots with steaming -NP(H) and without steaming - NP(O) in sarcoma 180-bearing mice were evaluated. The results showed that NP(H) and NP(O) at both doses of 300 mg/kg/day and 900 mg/kg/day reduced serum AST, ALT levels, hepatic MDA contents, and increased the contents of SOD, GSH, and CAT in the liver (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05 compared with the untreated control groups). In addition, NP(H) and NP(O) showed improving the macroscopic and microscopic images of the liver. NP(H) (300 mg/kg/day and 900 mg/kg/day) was more effective than NP(O) at the same dose, and also more effective than Lentinan at dose of 40 mg/kg/day (p < 0.05). Thus, the 70% ethanol extracts from P. notoginseng root (both with and without steaming) had antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects in sarcoma TG180-bearing mice, in which the extract from steamed P. notoginseng roots has a better effect compared  to raw P. notoginseng root (p < 0.05).

Keywords: Panax notoginseng, Steaming, Antioxidant, Hepatoprotection, Sarcoma 180-bearing mice.