Yi Guan Jian, a Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine, Alleviates Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Liver Injury

OBJECTIVE: To study the protective effect of Yi Guan Jian (YGJ) on liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)) in mice. METHODS: 50 ICR mice were randomly divided into 5 groups: control group, carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)) group, CCl(4) + silymarin Group (200 mg/kg), carbon CCl(4) + YGJ Group (11.5, 23 g/kg). Except the mice in the control group and the CCl4 group that were given the same volume of distilled water, the mice in other groups were given the drugs for seven days. 2 hours after the last administration, except the mice in the control group, the mice in other groups had intraperitoneal injection of 0.1% CCl(4) vegetable oil solution (10 ml/kg). Mice in control group had intraperitoneal injection of the same volume of vegetable oil. After 18h, the blood and liver were collected. The liver of mice was stained with HE staining, the levels of alanine transaminase (ALT) and glutamic pyruvic transaminas (AST) in serum were detected, malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), interleukin (IL-6, Il-1β), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) in serum and liver were detected, and the Western blot was used to detect the levels of MAPK/NF-κB pathway. RESULTS: YGJ significantly decreased the levels of ALT and AST. The contents of MDA, IL-6, Il-1β, and TNF-α in serum and liver were significantly decreased and the contents of SOD in serum and liver were significantly decreased by YGJ, which significantly improved the pathological changes of liver tissue in mice. The levels of MAPK/NF-κB pathway were significantly decreased by YGJ. CONCLUSION: YGJ has protective effect on CCl(4) induced liver injury in mice, which may be related to the MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway.