Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a cerebral function alteration in patients with liver dysfunction. The present study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effects of thymoquinone (TQ) on behavioral deficits and its possible mechanism(s) in a thioacetamide (TAA)-induced HE model. HE was induced in male Wistar rats by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of TAA (200 mg/kg) for once every 48 h for 14 consecutive days. Thymoquinone (5, 10, and 20 mg/kg) was administered for seven consecutive days (i.p.) after HE induction. Anxiety and depression-like behaviors assessed by standard paradigms respectively. Finally, their brain hippocampus sections prepared to evaluate the oxidative stress changes in rats. Data showed treatment HE rats with TQ ameliorated anxiety and depression-like behaviors. TQ administration also reduced oxidative stress due to its potential to enhance the levels of glutathione-peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), and total thiol content in the hippocampus. These findings suggest that TQ has notable effects against acute hepatic failure and HE complications through modulation of oxidative stress.

肝性脑病（HE）是肝功能不全患者的脑功能改变。本研究旨在评估在硫代乙酰胺（TAA）诱导的HE模型中胸腺醌（TQ）对行为缺陷的治疗作用及其可能的机制。通过腹腔内（ip）注射TAA（200 mg / kg），连续48天，每48小时一次，在雄性Wistar大鼠中诱发HE。HE诱导后连续7天（ip）给予胸腺醌（5、10和20 mg / kg）。分别通过标准范例评估焦虑和抑郁样行为。最后，他们的大脑海马区准备评估大鼠的氧化应激变化。数据显示，用TQ治疗的HE大鼠可减轻焦虑和抑郁样行为。施用TQ还可以降低氧化应激，因为它具有增强海马中谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶（GPx），过氧化氢酶（CAT）和总硫醇含量的潜力。这些发现表明，TQ通过调节氧化应激对急性肝衰竭和HE并发症具有显着效果。