title: Protective Effects of Chaihu Shugan San () on Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Rats with Insulin Resistance.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the protective effects of Chinese medicine formulation Chaihu Shugan San (, CHSGS) on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in rats with insulin resistance (IR) and its molecular mechanisms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into six groups: the control group, the model group, Dongbao Gantai group (, DBGT, 0.09 g methionine/kg), CHSGS high-dose group (CHSG-H, 12.6 g crude drug/kg), CHSGS medium-dose group (CHSG-M, 6.3 g crude drug/kg), and CHSGS low-dose group (CHSG-L, 3.15 g crude drug/kg). After establishing the NAFLD rat model and treatment for 8 weeks, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), free fatty acid (FFA), fasting blood glucose (FBG), fasting insulin (FINS) contents in blood serum, and TC, TG contents in the hepatic homogenate were measured by an automatic biochemical analyzer, and a homeostasis model assessment was applied to assess the status of IR, insulin sensitivity index (ISI), and homeostasis model assessment for insulin secretion (HOMA-IS). The expression levels of adiponectin and leptin mRNA in liver tissue were analyzed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Pathological changes of livers were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining of paraffin section.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with the model group, the serum levels of TC, TG, FFA, FBG, FINS, IRI, ISI, and the liver levels of TC and TG in CHSG-H, CHSG-M, CHSG-L groups showed significant declines (P<0.01 or P<0.05); the serum levels of HDL-C, HOMA-IS were significantly increased (P<0.01 or P<0.05); the expression of leptin mRNA was dramatically decreased and the expression of adiponectin mRNA was increased in the hepatic tissue (P<0.01 or P<0.05). The fatty deposition of liver cells could also be alleviated.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CHSGS could up-regulate the expression of adiponectin mRNA and down-regulate the expression of leptin mRNA on the liver, suggesting the CHSGS had positive therapeutic effect on NAFLD in rats with IR.
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Material Medica, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
authors.forename: Wei-Ning
authors.initials: WN
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Material Medica, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Center of Laboratorial Animals, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Traditional Chinese Medicine Key Laboratory for Metabolic Diseases, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
authors.forename: Jiao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Material Medica, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
authors.forename: Yan-Fen
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Material Medica, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Material Medica, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Material Medica, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
authors.forename: Chao-Yan
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Material Medica, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, 510006, China. tchp66@163.com.
authors.forename: Chun-Ping
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D052242:Adiponectin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D005215:Fasting / Q000097:blood; D006706:Homeostasis; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D020738:Leptin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008055:Lipids / Q000032:analysis; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020011:Protective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D052242:Adiponectin; D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin; D020738:Leptin; D008055:Lipids; D010936:Plant Extracts; D020011:Protective Agents; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C497000:chaihu-shugan-san
keywords: Chaihu Shugan San; Chinese medicine; adiponectin; insulin resistance; leptin; lipid metabolism; nonalcoholic fatty liver disease