The Ethanol-soluble Part of a Hot-water Extract from Artemisia iwayomogi Inhibits Liver Fibrosis Induced by Carbon Tetrachloride in Rats

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate the protective effects of the hot-water extract from Artemisia iwayomogi (Compositae) on carbon tetrachloride-induced liver fibrosis in rats. Liver injury was induced by oral administration of carbon tetrachloride (1 mL kg(-1)) twice a week during 4 weeks of A. iwayomogi treatment. Extracts from A. iwayomogi were prepared and administered to rats orally (2 g kg(-1) as A. iwayomogi for 4 weeks) as follows: group 1, hot-water extract; group 2, ethanol-soluble part of hot-water extract; group 3, ethanol-insoluble part of hot-water extract; and group 4, methanol extract. In rats treated with the ethanol-soluble part of the hot-water extract, liver hydroxyproline content was reduced to 74% that of carbon tetrachloride control rats (P < 0.05). Protein expression of alpha smooth muscle cell like actin was also decreased in rats treated with the ethanol-soluble part of the hot-water extract, which indicates inhibition of hepatic stellate cell activation. Liver malondialdehyde levels were significantly lowered in rats treated with the ethanol-soluble part of hot-water extract (P < 0.05). Serum cholesterol levels in rats treated with hot-water extract, ethanol-soluble or -insoluble parts of hot-water extract or methanol extract were significantly reduced when compared with those of carbon tetrachloride control rats (P < 0.05). The ethanol-soluble part of the hot-water extract from A. iwayomogi inhibited fibrosis and lipid peroxidation in rats with liver fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride. Both hot-water extract (either ethanol-soluble or -insoluble) and methanol extract of A. iwayomogi also lowered serum cholesterol levels in fibrotic rats.

A Carbohydrate Fraction, AIP1, fromArtemisia IwayomogiReduces the Action Potential Duration by Activation of Rapidly Activating Delayed Rectifier K+Channels in Rabbit Ventricular Myocytes

“…For example, both AIP1 and the ethanol-soluble fraction of the hot-water extract of A. iwayomogi lowered serum total-cholesterol levels and inhibited fibrosis and lipid oxidation in fibrotic rats [9]. Treatment of mouse thymocytes with AIP1 resulted in the suppression of cell death and improved cell survival, by suppression of the Fas/FasLdependent apoptotic pathway [12,13,19].…”

“…Artemisia iwayomogi (A. messer-schmidtiana var. viridis Besser, Compositae), known as Haninjin or Dowijigi, is a perennial herb that is abundant in Korea and is used to treat various liver diseases, including hepatitis, in traditional medicine [8,9]. The AIP1 carbohydrate fraction has been purified from a crude water-soluble preparation from dried A. iwayomogi herb using size-exclusion chromatography [10].…”

Anti-fibrotic activity of medicinal plants

“…Tetrandrine acts as an antagonist of the calcium channel which is important for the hepatic stellate cell function and regulation . It also plays an important role in the cancer therapy (Chen, 2002;Wang et al, 2004), anti-inflammatory effect (Choi et al, 2000). Various studies on isolated compound tetrandrine from the plant show that it has the potential for anti-fibrotic effect in different types of cell lines.…”

Supplementation of Psidium guajava (Guava) Fruit Polysaccharide Attenuates Paracetamol-induced Liver Injury by Enhancing the Endogenous Antioxidant Activity

“…The 95% ethanol was added to the supernatant to extract the water soluble polysaccharide solution. Then, the Sevag reagent was added to the solution to remove protein and finally the resultant solution was freeze-dried (Park et al 2000). The serum sample was sent to the Pathology laboratory to determine the level of alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST).…”