title: Protective effect of Ssanghwa-tang fermented by Lactobacillus fermentum against carbon tetrachloride-induced acute hepatotoxicity in rats.
abstract: Ssanghwa-tang (SHT) is a traditional herbal medicine formula that has been used for the development of physical strength, relief of pain, and the reduction of fatigue. In this study, we fermented SHT with Lactobacillus fermentum (L. fermentum), Lactobacillus gasseri (L.gasseri), or Lactobacillus casei (L.casei) to investigate the hepatoprotective effects of SHT and fermented SHT with Lactobacillus on carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4))-induced liver injury in rats. Rats were given CCl(4) (1 ml/kg, 50% CCl(4) in olive oil) intraperitoneally and either SHT or fermented SHTs (15 ml/kg) was administered 30 min before CCl(4). At 24 hr after CCl(4) injection, the levels of transaminases in the serum were markedly increased. These increases were significantly attenuated by either SHT + L. fermentum or SHT+ L.gasseri. However, SHT and SHT + L.casei showed slight suppression of the increase of transaminases. The liver histological changes were diminished by treatment with SHT + L. fermentum. Additionally, the potential hepatoprotective effect of fermented-SHTs correlated with the amount of unknown metabolite which is produced during fermentation process with L. fermentum, L.gasseri, or L.casei. Therefore, these results suggest that the hepatoprotective effect of SHT may be improved by fermentation with L. fermentum and the intestinal bacterial enzyme activities may likely play an important role in the pharmacological action of herbal medicines.
authors.affiliation: Center for Herbal Medicine Improvement Research, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun-Ae
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Eum
authors.forename: Ji-Hye
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Min-Cheol
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Ki Shuk
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Shim
authors.forename: Jae-Hoon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jin Yeul
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D019149:Bioreactors; D002251:Carbon Tetrachloride; D056486:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000494:pharmacology; D052197:Limosilactobacillus fermentum / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000378:metabolism*; D020011:Protective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; D020011:Protective Agents; D002251:Carbon Tetrachloride; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase