The Effect of yulangsan saponins on liver fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride in rats

Aim To investigate the effect of yulangsan saponins(YLSS) on CCl4-induced liver fibrosis in rats and its mechanism.Methods The SD rats were divided into two groups randomly: hepatic fibrosis group and normal control group.The rats of hepatic fibrosis group were induced by intragastric administration(i.g.) of 50% CCl4,and the normal control group were given normal saline(NS).The rats of hepatic fibrosis group confirmed by the pathological inspection were divided into 2 subgroups randomly: drug intervention group and the model group which were treated with NS.The drug intervention group were divided randomly into 4 subgroups: 3 different doses(20 mg·kg-1,40 mg·kg-1 and 80 mg·kg-1) of YLSS groups and a positive control group(colchicine tablets 0.20 mg·kg-1).All rats were treated with drugs of NS for 4 consecutive weeks by i.g.24 hours after the last administration of drugs,all rats were sacrificed,and the blood serum and hepatic tissue were taken quickly.The activities of ALT,AST in the serum and the expressions of SOD,MDA,GSH,GSH-Px in the hepatic tissue were analyzed,and the degree of hepatic injury was examined.Results Compared with the model control group,in all doses of YLSS groups and positive control group,the activities of AST and ALT in serum were decreased significantly(P0.01).The levels of SOD and GSH in liver were increased significantly(P0.01),but MDA was increased significantly in liver(P0.05 or P0.01).Meanwhile,GSH-Px activity was increased in all doses of YLSS groups(P0.01).And the degree of hepatic injury in high dose and middle dose YLSS groups and positive control group could be lessened(P0.05 or P0.01).Conclusion YLSS has certain curative effect on CCl4-induced liver fibrosis in rats.Its mechanism may involve attenuating free radical and inhibiting the lipid peroxidation.