Protective Effects Of Extract Of Marsdenia Tenacissima On CCl₄-induced Liver Fibrosis In Rats

Objective To study the protective effects and mechanisms of Extract of Marsdenia Tenacissima(EMT)on CCl4-induced hepatic fibrosis in rats.Methods Sixty SD rats were divided into six groups randomly: normal control group,Extract of Marsdenia Tenacissima(10?20?40 mg/kg)groups,positive control group(Colchicine 0.1 mg/kg)and model group.Liver fibrosis was induced by CCl4 twice a week for 12 weeks.From the 4th week,all the therapeutic groups were treated with the EMT(10?20?40 mg/kg)and the colchicine(0.1mg/kg),normal and model rats were feed with equal dosage of saline solution.At the end of the twelth week,the liver and spleen index were calculated with counter,the content of HA?LN?C? in serum and Hyp? SOD?MDA?GSH-Px in liver tissues were measured.HE and Masson staining were used to evalulate the degree of hepatic fibrosis.The expression of ?-SMA protein in liver tissues was analyzed by immunohistochemistry,and TGF-?1 and smad7 were detected by Western blot.Results Compared with the model group,EMT(10?20?40mg/kg)not only reduced the liver and spleen index,the serum content of HA,LN,C? and Hyp,MDA in liver tissue,increased SOD and GSH-Px activity.but also improved the morphologic changes of liver fibrosis,Moreover,it obviously decreased the ?-SMA,TGF-?1 expression and increased Smad7 expression in liver tissues.Conclusion Extract of Marsdenia Tenacissima observably reduces CCl4 induced hepatic fibrosis in rats,The mechanism may be by its antioxidant ability and inhibiting TGF-?1 / Smad signal transduction pathway.