ABSTRACT
Objective To study the inhibitory effect of Pharbitidis Semen on rat hepatoma induced by N-nitrosodiethylamine ( NDEA) . Methods SD rats were divided into normal control group, model control group and Pharbitidis Semen group. In model control group and Pharbitidis Semen group, 0. 01% NDEA was applied for 90 days to induce hepatoma, and rats in Pharbitidis Semen group concomitantly received feed containing 6% Pharbitidis Semen at the dosage of 40 g·kg-1 ·d-1 . Thirty days after the hepatoma inducement and Pharbitidis Semen administration, the rats were sacrificed to observe the pathological changes in liver, number of hepatoma nodules and liver weight. The changes of liver/body weight, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), γ-glutamyl transferase (γ-GT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were compared. One-way ANOVA (LSD Test) was employed for statistical analysis. Results In the normal control group, the number of hepatoma nodules was 0. 0±0. 0, the liver weight was (9. 87±1. 30) g, the ratio of liver/body weight was (2. 62±0. 24)% and the level of serum ALT was (64. 10±12. 71) U·L-1,γ-GT was (0. 80± 0. 42) U·L-1, and ALP was (121. 20±37. 57) U·L-1. In the model control group, the number of hepatoma nodules was (27. 4±9. 5), the liver weight was (21. 38±7. 29) g, the ratio of liver/body weight was (5. 82±2. 31)%, the level of serum ALT was (175. 70±48. 75) U·L-1, γ-GT was (41. 80±15. 38) U·L-1, and ALP was (200. 50±35. 78) U·L-1. In the Pharbitidis Semen group, the number of hepatoma nodules was (8. 6± 5. 3), the liver weight was (13. 91±3. 55) g, the ratio of liver/body weight was (3. 86±0. 76)% and the level of serum ALT was (113.10±45.35) U·L-1, γ-GT was (13. 40± 6. 15) U·L-1, and ALP was (155. 80±30. 26) U·L-1. The results showed that all indices of Pharbitidis Semen group were higher than those of the normal control group, and lower than those of the model control group (P<0. 01 or P<0. 05). Conclusion Pharbitidis Semen can reduce NDEA-induced injury to the liver cells, and inhibit the overgrowth of the hepatoma.