title: Preventative effect ofAstragalus flavescenson hepatic fibrosis in rats and its mechanism of action.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the preventative effect ofAstragalus flavescenson hepatic fibrosis in rats and its mechanism of action. A total of 60 rats were randomly divided into normal control, model control, high-dose treatment and low-dose treatment groups, and a hepatic fibrosis model was established. The high- and low-dose treatment groups were treated with 2 g/100 g and 0.5 g/100 gAstragalus flavescens, respectively, once a day. Eight weeks following the initiation of treatment, the liver specimens of the rats were stained and observed under a light microscope. Hepatic fibrosis indices, specifically, type III precollagen (PC III), type IV collagen (C IV), hyaluronic acid (HA) and laminin (LN), were detected. Furthermore, the expression and localization of the hepatic fibrosis-related factors transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) were determined. The serum levels of hepatic fibrosis indices, and the liver tissue levels of hepatic fibrosis-related factors and collagen surface density in the model control group and the high- and low-dose treatment groups were significantly higher compared with those of the normal control group (P<0.05). In addition, the values in the two treatment groups were significantly lower compared with those of the model control group (P<0.05). The present study demonstrated thatAstragalus flavescenseffectively prevents hepatic fibrosis in rats. A possible mechanism for this is that it may reduce the expression levels of TGF-β1, PDGF-BB and CTGF, thereby inhibiting the activation of hepatic stellate cells and specifically blocking the signal transduction pathway of hepatic fibrosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, The First Hospital of Xi'an City, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710002; ; The Third Department of Internal Medicine, The Fifth Hospital of Xi'an City, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710082;
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Guangrong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.forename: Mengyun
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Yonghong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hui
authors.forename: Xueli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jin
keywords: Astragalus flavescens; hepatic fibrosis; mechanism; prevention