Effect of a herbal medicine on fatty liver in rats fed ethanol chronically.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to determine whether Cardiotopic Pills (CP) affects fatty liver in rats fed ethanol chronically.


METHODS
Male Wistar rats were treated with liquid diet that contained ethanol (36% of total calories) or an isocaloric carbohydrate instead of ethanol for 6 weeks. CP, an oral herbal medicine including Danshen (Salviae Miltiorrhiza), Panax notoginseny and Dyroblanops aromatica gaertn, have been clinically used for vascular diseases such as coronary diseases and cerebral infarction. CP was administered orally with the liquid diets for 2 weeks 0.4 mg/kg body weight/day with the liquid diet thereafter. Serum triglyceride and total cholesterol levels, total protein, albumin, and AST and ALT activities are measured. Histological examination was also carried out. In another set of experiments, autofluorescence of NAD(P)H, an indicator of mitochondrial O2 consumption and redox status, was measured by an intravital microscopy, and peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor-(PPAR)-alpha and gamma mRNA levels were evaluated by real time quantitative PCR methods.


RESULTS
Chronic ethanol consumption elevated serum triglyceride level, and caused fatty degeneration of liver. After administration of CP, fatty degeneration was not observed in rats fed ethanol chronically. Elevation of serum triglyceride level was not noted after treatment with CP (Ethanol: 79.4 +/- 9.3 mg/dl, Ethanol+CP: 48.0 +/- 4.4, respectively, p<0.05). CP did not affect any other laboratory data or NAD(P)H levels. Chronic ethanol consumption did not affect PPAR-gamma mRNA levels, while it decreased PPAR-alpha mRNA levels in the liver. CP prevented the ethanol-induced decrease in PPAR-alpha mRNA levels. CP and its components could enhance expression of PPAR-alpha mRNA levels.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that CP may be useful to prevent alcoholic fatty liver via enhanced expression of PPAR-alpha.
Horie
Yoshinori
Y
Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
Kikuchi
Masahiro
M
Yamagishi
Yoshiyuki
Y
Umeda
Rumiko
R
Ebinuma
Hirotoshi
H
Saito
Hidetsugu
H
Kato
Shinzo
S
Ishii
Hiromasa
H
Hibi
Toshifumi
T
Han
Jing-Yan
JY
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005235:Fatty Liver, Alcoholic / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009249:NADP / Q000378:metabolism; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D047493:PPAR alpha / Q000378:metabolism; D053723:Panax notoginseng; D008517:Phytotherapy; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D027561:Salvia miltiorrhiza; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D047493:PPAR alpha; D028321:Plant Preparations; D014280:Triglycerides; D000431:Ethanol; D009249:NADP; D002784:Cholesterol