title: Hepatoprotective effects of Inula britannica on hepatic injury in mice.
abstract: Inula britannica, a Kampo medicine, is prepared from the heads of Compositae plants such as Inula britannica L., which has been used clinically as a remedy for nausea, hiccup and excessive sputum. Here it is shown that administration of Inula britannica improves the survival rate of mice with hepatic injury induced by LPS/PA. It is also suggested that administration of Inula britannica significantly reduces the fluctuation in the amount of cytokine in the spleen of mice with hepatic injuries, and that the Th1/Th2 control effect is related to the inhibitory action of Inula britannica against hepatic injury. In vitro testing suggests that Inula britannica suppresses Th1 differentiation and induces Th2 differentiation by inhibiting the production of macrophage IL-12 and promoting the production of IL-10, thus showing the immunological effect of hepatic injury inhibition by affecting the balance between Th1 and Th2.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioregulatory Function, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyou-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan.
authors.forename: Q H
authors.initials: QH
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iijima
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Cyong
mesh_terms: D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006520:Hepatitis, Animal / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control*; D038143:Inula; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000633:toxicity; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D020835:Medicine, Kampo; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase