ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To study the metabolic differences of the effective fractions of total glycosides of Jinkui Shenqi Pills in liver homogenate and blood by high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ion trap mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI/MSn). METHODS: The in vitro metabolism of the glycosides was studied using rat liver homogenate and the in vivo metabolism was investigated in rats. The metabolites were detected by HPLC-ESI/MS/MS. According to the molecular ion peak in negative ion mode, the molecular weight information of the compound was obtained. RESULTS: A total of 13 chemical components were detected in the rat liver homogenate after incubation for 20 min. Eight prototype components were detected in both liver homogenate and plasma while pentagalloylglucose was only found in the liver homogenate. A total of nine metabolites were detected in plasma, and only four metabolites were found in the liver, which were shared by those in plasma. CONCLUSION: The four common metabolites are produced through liver metabolism of the total glycosides. The RESULTS of this study have important implications for revealing the metabolic mechanisms of the total glycoside constituents in vitro and in vivo.
ABSTRACT
Objective To establish a method of a new type of liver fibrosis model in rats induced by repeated injection of rabbits' liver homogenate. Methods Female Wistar rats were randomly divided into a normal control group (8 rats), a human albumin induced liver fibrosis model group (15 rats) and a rabbits'liver homogenate induced liver fibrosis group (15 rats). The induction of liver fibrosis began with an immune sensitizing period (4 weeks) and was followed by an immune attacking period (8 weeks). After 8 weeks'attacking, all rats were sacrificed under anesthesia. Liver enzymes in serum and hydroxyproline in liver tissue were measured by standard methods and pathological scores were assessed by pathologists. Results The rats' liver weight, ratio of liver weight to body weight in the model group of liver homogenate were significantly increased compared with the normal control group. Serum globulin, tissue hydroxyproline were significantly increased, whereas serum albumin was significantly decreased in the homogenate group. There was only 20.0 percent of liver fibrosis score (2/10) exceeding a degree of 3 in the albumin group whereas 73.3 percent of that (11/15) were exceeding a degree of 3 in the homogenate group and the difference was significant (x2 = 4. 87,P = 0. 027). Conclusion In the study, we established a method of a new type of experimental liver fibrosis model in rats. The method has a significantly high success rate and this model can be used to study the mechanism of liver fibrosis and the efficacy of antifibrotic medicine.