https://doi.org/10.4081/jbr.2026.13866
Geraniol alleviates liver ischemia/reperfusion injury by modulating the MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway
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Published: 22 April 2026
This study investigates the anti-inflammatory effects of Geraniol (GER) in mitigating Liver Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury (LIRI) by targeting the Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK)/Nuclear Factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway. Forty-nine male Wistar rats underwent 1 hour of liver ischemia, followed by 60 minutes and 6 hours of reperfusion. GER was administered at 50 and 100 mg/kg doses immediately before reperfusion. Liver function was evaluated by measuring serum aminotransferase levels. Oxidative stress markers in liver homogenates were assessed. Inflammatory factors were analyzed using Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), and NF-κB and phosphorylated Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (p-MAPK) concentrations in liver tissue were measured using immunohistochemistry. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) followed by Tukey’s post-hoc test. This study shows that GER effectively mitigates LIRI through its anti-inflammatory properties, significantly improving liver function, reducing oxidative stress markers, and suppressing NF κB and p-MAPK activity. Histopathological analysis confirmed that GER significantly attenuated liver damage. These findings suggest that GER exerts its protective effects by modulating the NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways.
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CRediT authorship contribution
Seyedeh Mahdieh Khoshnazar, conceptualization, methodology, software, formal analysis, investigation, writing-original draft preparation, writing-review and editing, project administration; Saeedeh Khajoei Nejad, software, formal analysis; Shahriyar Dabiri, methodology; Alireza Amirbeigi, revising, writing-review and editing; Nader Shahrokhi, investigation, editing; Mohammad Khaksari Hadad, investigation, editing; Sara Shafieipour, conceptualization, methodology, writing-review and editing, supervision. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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