Current Status of Herbal Medicines in Chronic Liver Disease Therapy: The Biological Effects, Molecular Targets and Future Prospects

Hong, Ming; Li, Sha; Tan, Hor Yue; Wang, Ning; Tsao, Sai‐Wah; Feng, Yibin

doi:10.3390/ijms161226126

Cited by 129 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 225 publications

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“…Administration of ethanol with repetitive CCl 4 ingestion could be more effective in maintaining the fibrotic pattern because ethanol increases activation of cytochrome P450 [37], resulting in greater liver damage than with either agent alone [38]. Various plant extracts have been widely applied to treat chronic liver diseases, including chronic hepatic inflammation and fibrosis [39].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attenuation of Carbon Tetrachloride and Ethanol-Induced Hepatic Fibrosis in Rats by Calligonum Comosum Shoot Extract

Mousa¹,

Hassan²,

El-Sammad³

2017

Asian J Pharm Clin Res

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Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the hepatoprotective and antioxidant effects of methanolic extract of Calligonum comosum (C. comosum) shoots on the hepatic fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride and ethanol (CCl 4 /ethanol) in rats.Methods: A liver fibrosis was induced in Sprague Dawley rats by oral administration of CCl 4 (1 ml/kg body weight, twice weekly for 10 weeks) along with ethanol (10% in drinking water 1 week before CCl 4 administration and throughout the experiment). Rats were pretreated with C. comosum extract (daily, orally at a dose of 50 mg/kg body weight 1 week before CCl 4 administration). At the end of the experiment, serum, and liver samples were subjected to biochemical investigations. In addition, liver and kidney tissues were evaluated for histopathological changes.Results: C. comosum extract pretreatment significantly reduced CCl 4 -induced elevation in serum levels of aspartate aminotransaminase, alanine aminotransaminase, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, urea, creatinine, and significantly elevated serum contents of total protein and albumin, as well as an improvement in hepatic protein content, albumin/globulin ratio, body weight and relative liver and kidney weights. C. comosum extract also significantly increased the hepatic levels of glucose-6-phosphatase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione-S-transferase, catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione with significant decrease in the contents of malondialdehyde and protein carbonyl. In addition, downregulation in expression of the fibrotic marker matrix metalloproteinase-2 was observed. C. comosum extract also ameliorated histopathological changes of CCl 4 /ethanol group which further evidenced the biochemical findings. Conclusion:Our results confirmed that the methanolic extract of C. comosum shoots effectively protect against CCl 4 /ethanol-induced liver fibrosis, through its antioxidant property.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attenuation of Carbon Tetrachloride and Ethanol-Induced Hepatic Fibrosis in Rats by Calligonum Comosum Shoot Extract

Mousa¹,

Hassan²,

El-Sammad³

2017

Asian J Pharm Clin Res

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“…Currently, there is a growing use of functional foods and nutraceuticals, which contain proteins, polyphenols, dietary fiber, phytosterols, and long‐chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), as promising co‐adjuvants in the pharmacological therapy of dyslipidemia, NAFLD, and NASH (Chen, Wang, Zhang, & Yang, ; Hunter & Hegele, ; Lyu et al, ; Waltenberger, Mocan, Šmejkal, Heiss, & Atanasov, ). Indeed, plant foods and medicinal herbs may be useful hepatoprotective agents (Ganesan, Jayachandran, & Xu, ; Hong et al, ; Tan et al, ). Long‐chain PUFAs include two main types of essential fatty acids, omega‐3 (ω‐3 or n‐3, such as α‐linolenic acid, ALA, eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA, and docosahexaenoic acid, DHA) and omega‐6 (ω‐6 or n‐6, such as linoleic acid and arachidonic acid), which have been recognized for their biological activity (Abedi & Sahari, ; Juárez‐Hernández, Chávez‐Tapia, Uribe, & Barbero‐Becerra, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) improve acute dyslipidemia and steatohepatitis in rats

et al. 2019

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Chia seeds (Salvia hispanica L.) are rich in omega fatty acids. Dyslipidemia and steatohepatitis are diseases that require effective treatments in obese and non‐obese patients. The aim was to evaluate the effect of chia intake on acute tyloxapol (TI)‐induced dyslipidemia, on acute carbon tetrachloride (TC)‐induced steatohepatitis, and on mixed damage (TC+TI) in non‐obese rats. Four experimental groups were fed for 4 weeks a diet with established rodent food (DE), and four groups were fed a diet with 15% added chia (DC). Plasma samples were analyzed for total cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, biochemical liver damage markers, and tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α). Liver samples were used to quantify glycogen, catalase, lipid peroxidation, and TNF‐α. A histopathological analysis was performed. DC intake partially or totally prevented steatohepatitis, and reduced lipids in the dyslipidemic groups. The hypolipidemic and hepatoprotective effects of chia may be correlated to its high content of α‐linolenic acid (omega‐3) and phenolics. Practical applications Metabolic syndrome is associated with non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which are currently the most common causes of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) worldwide. Dyslipidemia is a significant risk factor for NAFLD and NASH. Non‐obese patients may have NAFLD or NASH. Metabolic syndrome and dyslipidemia are more strongly associated with NAFLD in non‐obese than in obese patients. This is the first study evaluating the hypolipidemic and hepatoprotective effects of chia seed intake on acute dyslipidemia and/or steatohepatitis caused by the individual or combined administration of the inducers tyloxapol and carbon tetrachloride, respectively, in non‐obese rats. The pharmacological effects of dietary chia are correlated to its high content of omega‐3 and omega‐6 (1:1), protein, dietary fiber, and phenolics. The results suggest that inclusion of chia in diets of non‐obese patients with dyslipidemia and/or NAFLD/NASH may improve their health state and preventing cirrhosis or HCC.

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“…Liver disease is one of the most serious health problems worldwide, affecting more than 10% of the world population [1,2]. Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are two common types of liver diseases that represent a major health burden in industrialized countries.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thereby, the development of novel agents that can improve the efficacy of ALD and NAFLD prevention and treatment is urgently needed. In recent years, numerous medicinal herbs and phytochemicals have been investigated as complementary and alternative treatments for liver diseases including ALD and NAFLD [2]. However, scientific validation of these herbal medicines’ efficacy is needed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Biomedical Investigation of the Hepatoprotective Effect of Radix salviae miltiorrhizae and Network Pharmacology-Based Prediction of the Active Compounds and Molecular Targets

Hong

Wang

et al. 2017

IJMS

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Radix salviae miltiorrhizae (Danshen in Chinese), a classic traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) herb, has been used for centuries to treat liver diseases. In this study, the preventive and curative potential of Danshen aqueous extract on acute/chronic alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was studied. The in vivo results indicated that Danshen could alleviate hepatic inflammation, fatty degeneration, and haptic fibrogenesis in ALD and NAFLD models. In the aspect of mechanism of action, the significant reduction in MDA levels in both ALD and NAFLD models implies the decreased levels of oxidative stress by Danshen. However, Danshen treatment could not activate the internal enzymatic antioxidant system in ALD and NAFLD models. To further explore the hepatoprotective mechanism of Danshen, an in silico-based network pharmacology approach was employed in the present study. The pharmacological network analysis result revealed that six potential active ingredients such as tanshinone iia, salvianolic acid b, and Danshensu may contribute to the hepatoprotective effects of Danshen on ALD and NAFLD. The action mechanism may relate with regulating the intracellular molecular targets such as PPARα, CYP1A2, and MMP2 for regulation of lipid metabolism, antioxidant and anti-fibrogenesis by these potential active ingredients. Our studies suggest that the combination of network pharmacology strategy with in vivo experimental study may provide a forceful tool for exploring the mechanism of action of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) herb and developing novel bioactive ingredients.

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Current Status of Herbal Medicines in Chronic Liver Disease Therapy: The Biological Effects, Molecular Targets and Future Prospects

Cited by 129 publications

References 225 publications

Attenuation of Carbon Tetrachloride and Ethanol-Induced Hepatic Fibrosis in Rats by Calligonum Comosum Shoot Extract

Attenuation of Carbon Tetrachloride and Ethanol-Induced Hepatic Fibrosis in Rats by Calligonum Comosum Shoot Extract

Dietary chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) improve acute dyslipidemia and steatohepatitis in rats

A Biomedical Investigation of the Hepatoprotective Effect of Radix salviae miltiorrhizae and Network Pharmacology-Based Prediction of the Active Compounds and Molecular Targets

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