Effect and mechanism of methyl helicterate isolated from Helicteres angustifolia (Sterculiaceae) on hepatic fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride in rats.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Methyl helicterate is a triterpenoid isolated from Helicteres angustifolia (Sterculiaceae), one of the valuable traditional Chinese herbs. Antifibrotic activities of H. angustifolia have been extensively proved.

Methyl helicterate protects against CCl4-induced liver injury in rats by inhibiting oxidative stress, NF-κB activation, Fas/FasL pathway and cytochrome P4502E1 level.

This study was designed to investigate the protective effects of the methyl helicterate (MH) isolated from Helicteres angustifolia L. against CCl4-induced hepatotoxicities in rats. Liver injury was induced in rats by the administration of CCl4 twice a week for 8 weeks.

[Pharmacognosy identification of Embelia parviflora].

Objective: To study the morphological character and microscopic identification of Embelia parviflora.

Methods: Researches on the morphological character and microscopic identification of roots and stems of Embelia parviflora were carried on respectively.

Results: Significant microscopic characteristics of Embelia parviflora were confirmed.

Globulin-platelet model predicts minimal fibrosis and cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis B virus infected patients.

Aim: To establish a simple model consisting of the routine laboratory variables to predict both minimal fibrosis and cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected patients.

Methods: We retrospectively investigated 114 chronic HBV-infected patients who underwent liver biopsy in two different hospitals. Thirteen parameters were analyzed by step-wise regression analysis and correlation analysis.

Protective effect of isoorientin-2″-O-α-L-arabinopyranosyl isolated from Gypsophila elegans on alcohol induced hepatic fibrosis in rats.

Alcohol abuse is one of the major causes of liver fibrosis, which shows a sharply increasing trend worldwide, yet effective therapeutic options for advanced alcohol fibrosis are limited. Recently we investigated the effect of anti-fibrosis by isoorientin-2″-O-α-L-arabinopyranosyl (IOA) isolated from Gypsophila elegans. During the experiment, the model group received alcohol only, and treatment groups received the corresponding drugs plus alcohol respectively, while the normal control group received an equal volume of saline.

Hepatoprotective effects of total saponins isolated from Taraphochlamys affinis against carbon tetrachloride induced liver injury in rats.

In this study, rats were orally treated with the total saponins of Taraphochlamys affinis (TSTA) daily with administration of CCl4 twice a week for 8 weeks. Compared to the normal control, CCl4 induced liver damage significantly increased the activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in serum and decreased the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and glutathione reductase (GSH-Rd) in liver. Meanwhile content of hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA), which was oxidative stress marker, was increased.