Inhibitory Effect of Ethanol Extract of Cassia mimosoides Linn. on Dimethylnitrosamine-induced Hepatic Fibrosis in Rats / 中药新药与临床药理

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the inhibitory effect of ethanol extract of Cassia mimosoides Linn. (EE-CML) on dimethylnitrosamine-induced hepatic fibrosis in rats and to explore its therapeutic mechanism. Methods Sixty male SD rats were equally divided into 6 groups normal group, model group, high-, middle-and low-dose EE-CML groups (at the doses of 12.6 g/kg, 4. 2 g/kg, and 1.4 g/kg respectively) and colchicine (0. 2 mg/kg). Intervention treatment with EE-CML by gastric gavage was carried out in the rats with hepatic fibrosis which was induced by dimethylnitresamine simulta-neously and their effects were compared with the group treated with colchicine. The model group and the normal group were giv-en the same volume of saline once a day. Four weeks after treatment, hepatic function, levels of serum hyaluronic acid (HA), serum laminin (LN), serum aminoterminal propeptide of type Ⅲ procollagen (PCⅢ), hepatic hydroxyproline (Hyp), and histopathological changes in rats were assayed and examined. Results Compared with those in the model group, in the differences of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level in three EE-CML groups and serum aspartate aminotrans-ferase (AST) level in high dose EE-CML group were statistically significant (P < 0. 05) ; hepatic Hyp level and serum HA, LN and PCⅢNP contents in EE-CML groups were significantly lower than those in the model group (P < 0. 05). Hepatic fi-brosis of rats in EE-CML groups alleviated significantly, and the differences compared with that in the model group were sta-tistically significant (P < 0. 05). Conclusion Ethanol extract of Cassia mimosoides shows significant inhibitory effect on the dimethylnitrosamine-induced hepatic fibrosis in rats, and the inhibitory mechanism may be related to the protection on hepatic cells and the inhibition on collagen fiber synthesis.