Progress of research on effect and mechanism of Scutellariae Radix on preventing liver diseases / 中国中药杂志

Scutellariae Radix is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine, which has the functions of heat-clearing and damp-drying, purging fire and detoxifying, hemostasis and miscarriage prevention. Modern pharmacological studies show that Scutellariae Radix has various effects, such as anti-oxidation, anti-inflammatory, liver protection and antiviral microorganisms. By searching the documents in the past ten years, the author has found that Scutellariae Radix and its active components play an important role in protecting the liver. It can prevent and cure liver injuries caused by different reasons, including acute or chronic hepatitis, liver fibrosis and liver cancer. Among all kinds(chemical, immunological, alcoholic, nonalcoholic, viral, ischemia-reperfusion, etc.) of acute or chronic hepatitis, most studies are on CCl_4 induced chemical liver injury. Scutellariae Radix and its active components can significantly reduce the serum transaminase level in hepatitis animals, and reduce the degree of liver pathological damage. The mechanisms include antioxidant stress, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptosis, inhibition of immunity, anti-virus and regulation of lipid metabolism, etc. Scutellariae Radix and its active components can significantly inhibit the activation of hepatic stellate cells and reduce extracellular matrix, and its anti-fibrosis mechanism involves antioxidation, anti-inflammatory, inducing apoptosis of hepatic stellate cells and so on. Whether in vivo or in vitro, Scutellariae Radix and its active components show a good anti-hepatocarcinoma effect, especially on hepatocarcinoma. Its prevention and treatment mechanisms for hepatocarcinoma mainly include blocking cancer cell cycle, inhibiting cancer cell metastasis, promoting cancer cell apoptosis and inducing autophagy. It can be seen that Scutellariae Radix has multiple functions and mechanisms in liver protection, and has a great development potential. Therefore, this paper reviews the prevention and treatment effects and mechanism of Scutellariae Radix and its components on different liver diseases, in order to provide reference for in-depth study, development and clinical application in the prevention and treatment of liver disease.

Role of Nrf2 signaling pathway in liver regeneration and research progress of related drugs / 中国药理学通报

Liver can regenerate after chemical damage or partial hepatectomy. Liver regeneration is a complex process involving a variety of cytokines und multiple signal pathways. NK2 is a sensitive transcription factor of oxidation-reduction, which plays a regulatory role in cell defense, oxidation-reduction balance, inflammation and intermediate metabolism. It is closely related to cell proliferation. Some reports ha\e proved that liver regeneration is delayed after partial hepalectomy. Furthermore, ihis phenomenon is observed in the mice with absence of Nrf2. There fore. NrQ signaling pathway is involved in the process of liver regeneration. This article reviews the role of Nri2 signaling pathway in the process of liver regeneration according to the existing research results. We have also summarized the drugs that may affect liver regeneration or hepatocyte proliferation, hoping to find more drugs for liver diseases and provide ideas for the mechanism of the drugs.