Administration of a mixture of triterpenoids from yeyachun and phenolic acids from danshen ameliorates carbon tetrachloride-induced liver fibrosis in mice by the regulation of intestinal flora

yeyachun and danshen exist as Chinese patent medicine, Xuemai Tong, and are clearly effective at alleviating liver fibrosis (LF). Previous studies have indicated that triterpenoids from yeyachun (EFT), and phenolic acids from danshen (SMP) are effective in the treatment of LF. The regulation of intestinal flora is an effective method for treating LF. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a mixture of EFT and SMP on carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced LF. Our results showed the mixture significantly decreased liver damage and fibrosis index, and maintained liver tissue composition, compared to the model group. Moreover, the imbalance of symptoms of intestinal flora was improved. The mixture also caused changes to metabolites of gut flora. Furthermore, the expression of CD68 in liver tissues from the treated groups was significantly decreased when compared to the model group. However, no significant difference was observed from microstructure of gut tissues and LPS concentrations in the serum between mixture treated mice and model mice. This study suggests that the mixture of EFT and SMP had a significant effect on CCl4 induced LF, and the mechanism of this action, at least in part, involved the regulation of intestinal flora and their metabolites. (C) 2020 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Japanese Pharmacological Society.

野鸦椿和丹参作为中成药血麦通存在，且在缓解肝纤维化（LF）方面明显有效。先前的研究表明，野鸦椿中的三萜类化合物（EFT）和丹参中的酚酸（SMP）对治疗LF有效。肠道菌群的调节是治疗LF的一种有效方法。本研究的目的是探讨EFT和SMP的混合物对四氯化碳（CCl₄）诱导的LF的影响。我们的结果显示，与模型组相比，该混合物显著降低了肝脏损伤和纤维化指数，并维持了肝脏组织成分。此外，肠道菌群症状的失衡得到了改善。该混合物还引起了肠道菌群代谢物的变化。此外，与模型组相比，治疗组肝脏组织中CD68的表达显著降低。然而，在肠道组织的微观结构以及血清中脂多糖（LPS）浓度方面，混合物治疗的小鼠和模型小鼠之间未观察到显著差异。本研究表明，EFT和SMP的混合物对CCl₄诱导的LF有显著影响，且这种作用的机制至少部分涉及肠道菌群及其代谢物的调节。（C）2020作者。由爱思唯尔出版集团代表日本药理学会制作和托管。