Effect of glycyrrhizin on CCl_4-induced liver cirrhosis and bone loss in mice / 中国药理学通报

ABSTRACT

AIM To study the relationship between hepatic fibrosis and osteoporosis and to determine the preventive effects of Glycyrrhizin on bone loss in mice. METHOD Forty PCR Mice were randomly divided into 4 groups. Group A mice were controls; Group B mice were given sc injection of 40% CCl 4 10 ml?kg -1 once per 5 days as fibrosis model group; Group C were given orally colchicine of 0 01 mg?kg -1 plus CCl 4 sc, Group D were given Glycyrrhizin(GL) of 100 mg?kg -1 orally plus CCl 4 sc. The four groups were treated for 42 days. The liver injury indexes were measured and the mineral elements and Hydroxyproline of the femur were determined. RESULT Compared with group A, the serum enzymes of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartic acid aminotransferase (AST) were markedly increased and serum albumin (Alb) and A/G(Alb/(total protein Alb) were decreased significantly in group B whose liver slides also showed typical liver cirrhosis. The dried weight of femur in the cirrhosis mice was markedly reduced and the bone Calcium content and bone Hydroxyproline content were also significantly decreased in group B. Bone copper and bone magnesium were increased in group B. In group D, GL inhibited markedly the decrease of the serum enzymes and increased Calcium content and Hydroxyproline content of the bone compared with group B. The bone mass loss was prevented effectively by Glycyrrhizin. CONCLUSION The bone mass was lost in mice with chronic hepatic injury induced by CCl 4 and Glycyrrhizin can prevent bone loss which was accompanied by chronic hepatic injury in mice.