ABSTRACT
Objective: To study the protective effects of Shufeng Jiedu Capsule on SD rats with acute liver injury induced by D- galactosamine/lipopolysaccharide (D-GalN/LPS). Methods: Eighty SD rats with average 250 g weight were randomly divided into four groups: the saline control group, LPS-induced model group, Shufeng Jiedu Capsule treatment group, and dexamethasone treatment group with 20 in each group. The rats in the saline group were ip injected with 0.5 mL of saline, other three groups were ip injected with D-GalN 700 mg/kg and LPS 10 μg/kg in order to induce the model of acute liver injury, The rats in dexamethasone treatment group were ip injected with dexamethasone 5 mg/kg, the rats in Shufeng Jiedu Capsule treatment group were ig fed a daily dose 100 mg/kg of Shufeng Jiedu Capsule. At day 1, 3, 5, and 7, five rats from each group were killed and their liver tissues were taken for HE staining to observe pathological manifestations; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Elisa) was taken for the following tests: the levels of alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), Ornithine carbamoyltransferase (OCT), high-mobility group protein (HMGB-1), and glutathione s-transferase (GST) were determined. Results: Shufeng Jiedu Capsule could significantly alleviate the acute liver injury induced by D-GalN/LPS. Liver tissue of Shufeng Jiedu Capsule treatment group, compared to D-GaIN/LPS-induced model group, had lesser extent lesions. The levels of ALT and AST, IL-1β, TNF-α, OCT, HMGB-1, and GST were significantly lower than those of D-GalN/LPS model group (P 0.05). Conclusion: Shufeng Jiedu Capsule could inhibit the liver cell expression of IL-1β and TNF-α so as to reduce the acute liver injury induced by D-GalN/LPS.