## 3 Results
### MLD Synergistically Attenates Hepatocyte Apoptosis
All three doses of MLD significantly alleviated the depletion of glutathione and the reduction of SOD and catalase activities (\(p<0.01\)), with the magnitude of these restorative effects greater than those seen in response to silymarin or either of the herbal extracts alone (\(p<0.05\), glutathione levels in the silymarin versus the 50 mg/kg MLD group; \(p<0.05\), SOD activity in the silymarin versus the 100 mg/kg MLD group and in the LB versus the 50 or 100 mg/kg MLD group; \(p<0.05\), catalase activity in the DL versus 50 or 100 mg/kg MLD group; \(p<0.01\), other comparisons; Figure 5b-d), except for glutathione levels, which did not differ significantly between the 50 mg/kg MLD group and the LB group (Figure 5b). Figure 5: MLD increases antioxidant activities in CCl\({}_{4}\)-treated mice. Effects of MLD on Nrf2 mRNA levels (**a**), glutathione levels (**b**), SOD activity (**c**), and catalase activity (**d**) in hepatic tissues. All values are expressed as mean \(\pm\) SD of ten mice. **\(p<0.01\) between the vehicle and CCl\({}_{4}\) groups; # \(p<0.01\), # \(p<0.05\) versus CCl\({}_{4}\)-injected mice; ++ \(p<0.01\), + \(p<0.05\) between Sily- and MLD-treated mice; $5 \(p<0.01\), $ \(p<0.05\) between LB- and MLD-treated mice; $6 \(p<0.01\), $ \(p<0.05\) between DL- and MLD-treated mice. MLD Synergistically Decreases the Levels of Proinflammatory Cytokines in CCl\({}_{4}\)-Treated Mice  
To explore whether MLD protects the liver by reducing CCl\({}_{4}\)-induced inflammation, mRNA and protein levels of proinflammatory cytokines were measured using real-time PCR and ELISA, respectively. CCl\({}_{4}\) significantly increased the mRNA and protein levels of TNF-\(\alpha\) (\(p<0.01\); Figure 6a), IL-18 (\(p<0.01\); Figure 6b), and IL-6 (\(p<0.01\); Figure 6c) compared to the vehicle. Administration of three different doses of MLD significantly inhibited the increases in mRNA and protein levels of proinflammatory cytokines induced by CCl\({}_{4}\) (\(p<0.01\); Figure 6a-c). The magnitude of the inhibition in mRNA and protein levels by MLD was greater than that achieved in response to silymarin or either of the herbal extracts alone (\(p<0.05\), IL-18 protein levels in the silymarin or DL versus the 50 mg/kg MLD group; \(p<0.01\), other comparisons; Figure 6a-c), with the exception of TNF-\(\alpha\) protein levels in the 50 mg/kg MLD and IL-18 protein levels in the 50-100 mg/kg MLD group, which did not differ significantly from those in the LB group. Figure 6: MLD inhibits the production of proinflammatory cytokines in CCl\({}_{4}\)-treated mice. Levels of mRNA (left) and proteins (right) of TNF-\(\alpha\) (**a**), IL-18 (**b**), and IL-6 (**c**) in the liver were determined using real-time PCR and ELISA, respectively. All values are expressed as mean \(\pm\) SD of ten mice. **+ \(p<0.01\)** between the vehicle and CCl\({}_{4}\) groups; **+ \(p<0.01\)**, **+ \(p<0.05\)** versus CCl\({}_{4}\)-injected mice; **+ \(p<0.01\)**, **+ \(p<0.05\)** between Sily- and MLD-treated mice; **+ \(p<0.01\)** between LB- and MLD-treated mice; **+ \(p<0.01\)**, **+ \(p<0.05\)** between DL- and MLD-treated mice.