Treatment of Kangxian Pills to Chronic Liver Injury in Mice Induced with Carbon Tetrachloride

ObjectiveKangxian Pills, containing Angelicae Sinensis, Chuanxiong Rhizoma, radix paeoniae rubra, and 12 other kinds of Chinese materia medica, have the functions of softening and dispersing blood stasis. It has been used for liver injury and liver fibrosis. The current study was designed to evaluate the anti-hepatic injury activity and the mechanism of Kangxian Pills on a CCl4-induced animal model.MethodsTo induce chronic liver injury, mice were treated with CCl4 twice a week for four weeks. Kangxian Pills (6 or 12 g/kg) and Compound Biejia Ruangan Tablet (0.901 g/kg) were ig given to mice once daily for four weeks after CCl4 was withdrawal. The anti-hepatic injury activities and mechanisms of Kangxian Pills were assessed by hepatic histology and by measuring the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), albumin (ALB), and total protein (TP) of serum as well as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glycogen (Gn) of the liver.ResultsKangxian Pills significantly decreased the levels of liver index, ALT, and AST in mice liver injury models in treatment group. Moreover, Kangxian Pills and Compound Biejia Ruangan Tablet inhibited the CCl4-induced reduction of SOD and Gn levels in the liver. The histological study showed that Kangxian Pills could reduce cellular swelling and infiltration of inflammatory cells in liver injury.ConclusionKangxian Pills possess the potent abilities to alleviate chronic liver injury, suggesting that Kangxian Pills exert this effect by enhancing the anti-oxidant ability and metabolism of the liver.