Protective effects of effective components group of Medicine Terminalia Fruit on experimental liver fibrosis

Objective To study the protective effect of Medicine Terminalia Fruit effective components group( MECG) on liver fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride( CCl4) in rats. Methods Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal control group,model group,positive drug( colchicine) group,MECG high dose( 90 mg / kg),moderate dose( 30 mg / kg) and low dose( 10 mg/kg) group. Except for the normal control group,the rest four groups of rats were administrated 1∶ 2 mixture of CCl4and spirit( 2 ml/kg,2 times per/weeks) to prepare the hepatic fibrosis model. The treatment groups were given different doses of MECG( 90,30 and 10 mg / kg) and positive control drug colchicines( 0. 2 mg / kg) once a day for six weeks. After six weeks' drugs administration,all rats were sacrificed for the collection of blood serum and hepatic tissues. The activities of aspartate transaminase( AST) and alanine transaminase( ALT) in the serum were determined. Besides,the appearances of liver and spleen were observed and their weight were measured,their indexs were counted,and histopathological examinations were performed. Results Compared with normal control group,the appearance and pathological examination results of livers in treatment and model group rats met characteristics of liver fibrosis. The activities of ALT and AST of hepatic fibrosis in rats were significantly higher( P 0. 01) than those in normal control group.The liver index and spleen index had significant difference compared with normal control group( P 0. 01). It is obvious that this model was successful. Compared with the model group,the body mass of treatedment groups increased significantly( P 0. 05),the level of AST and ALT in MECG groups was decreased significantly( P 0. 05),and thir liver index and spleen index were decreased significantly( P 0. 01) in a concentration-dependent manner. The liver pathological histology research showed that the liver cell degeneration,necrosis and degree of inflammatory cells infiltration in MECG group were relieved compared with the model group.Conclusion It is first reported in this paper that MECG can have a better protective effect against CCl4-induced hepatic damage in rats and improve liver function.