Anti-fibrotic effects of A. Berger (Crassulaceae) on hepatic stellate cells and thioacetamide-induced fibrosis in rats.

Background/objective: A. Berger (Crassulaceae) has been used in traditional herbal medicines in Korea and other Asian countries to treat various diseases, including liver disorders. In the present study, the anti-fibrotic effects of extract (OJE) in cellular and experimental hepatofibrotic rat models were investigated.

Materials/methods: An hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) system was used to estimate cell viability, cell cycle and apoptosis by MTT assay, flow cytometry, and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining techniques, respectively. In addition, thioacetamide (TAA)-induced liver fibrosis was established in Sprague Dawley rats. Briefly, animals were divided into five groups (n = 8): Control, TAA, OJE 10 (TAA with OJE 10 mg/kg), OJE 100 (TAA with OJE 100 mg/kg) and silymarin (TAA with Silymarin 50 mg/kg). Fibrosis was induced by treatment with TAA (200 mg/kg, ) twice per week for 13 weeks, while OJE and silymarin were administered orally two times per week from week 7 to 13. The fibrotic related gene expression serum biomarkers glutathione and hydroxyproline were estimated by RT-PCR and spectrophotometry, respectively, using commercial kits.

Results: OJE (0.5 and 0.1 mg/mL) and silymarin (0.05 mg/mL) treatment significantly ( < 0.01 and < 0.001) induced apoptosis (16.95% and 27.48% for OJE and 25.87% for silymarin, respectively) in HSC-T6 cells when compared with the control group (9.09%). Further, rat primary HSCs showed changes in morphology in response to OJE 0.1 mg/mL treatment. In studies, OJE (10 and 100 mg/kg) treatment significantly ameliorated TAA-induced alterations in levels of serum biomarkers, fibrotic related gene expression, glutathione, and hydroxyproline ( < 0.05- < 0.001) and rescued the histopathological changes.

Conclusions: OJE can be developed as a potential agent for the treatment of hepatofibrosis.