Hepatoprotective Agents from Natural Resource

A special issue of Medicines (ISSN 2305-6320).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2019) | Viewed by 4693

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
UMR152 Pharma Dev, Université de Toulouse, IRD, UPS, 31062 Toulouse, France
Interests: medicinal plants; liver; cancer; cellular senescence

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The liver is a vital organ that assumes multiple biological functions: Digestive by bile production, protective by coagulation enzymes production, metabolic by cholesterol regulation, glucose, vitamins, mineral storage, and self-regeneration. Moreover, through hepatic blood circulation, it also acts as an internal sensor of our environment, receiving exogenous toxics, migrating cancer cells, parasitic, and viral pathogens (viral hepatitis, flatworm and malaria infections).

Liver deregulation can be extremely symptomatic and painful. It is considered as a major organ that should be cured in diverse traditional medicines: Chinese, Ayurveda, African, South American medicines, etc., using hepatoprotective remedies, which are more often local plant decoctions.  These plants or plant mixtures are, for example, taken for decreasing the toxic effect of other plant remedies, eliminate viral hepatitis or liver cancer or for abrogating characteristic symptoms, such as jaundice, belly pains and general weakness. 

In laboratories, numerous and diverse assays are being performed to validate the hepatoprotective activity of natural remedies. The purpose of this Special Issue is to publish original research work related to hepatoprotective agents from natural resource: Who are they? How are they scientifically assessed? This may include a possible emphasis on original animal, cellular and molecular models.

Dr. Maelle Carraz
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • liver
  • hepatoprotective agents
  • medicinal plants
  • liver infections
  • liver cancer

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

12 pages, 5288 KiB  
Article
Effects of Shugan-Jianpi Recipe on the Expression of the p38 MAPK/NF-κB Signaling Pathway in the Hepatocytes of NAFLD Rats
by Yuanjun Deng, Kairui Tang, Runsen Chen, Yajie Liu, Huan Nie, Hong Wang, Yupei Zhang and Qinhe Yang
Medicines 2018, 5(3), 106; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicines5030106 - 19 Sep 2018
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4294
Abstract
Background: In traditional Chinese medicine, the Shugan-Jianpi recipe is often used in the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study aimed to explore the mechanism of the Shugan-Jianpi recipe in relation to rats with NAFLD induced by a high-fat diet. Methods: [...] Read more.
Background: In traditional Chinese medicine, the Shugan-Jianpi recipe is often used in the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study aimed to explore the mechanism of the Shugan-Jianpi recipe in relation to rats with NAFLD induced by a high-fat diet. Methods: Rats were randomly divided into eight groups: normal group (NG), model group (MG), low-dose Chaihu–Shugan–San group (L-CG), high-dose Chaihu–Shugan–San group (H-CG), low-dose Shenling–Baizhu–San group (L-SG), high-dose Shenling–Baizhu–San group (H-SG), low dose of integrated-recipes group (L-IG), and high dose of integrated-recipes group (H-IG). After 26 weeks, a lipid profile, aspartate, and alanine aminotransferases in serum were detected. The serum levels of inflammatory factors including interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were analyzed using the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Hepatic pathological changes were observed with hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and oil red O staining. The expression of the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK)/nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway was detected by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting. Results: A pathological section revealed that NAFLD rats have been successfully reproduced. Compared with the model group, each treatment group had different degrees of improvement. The Shugan-Jianpi recipe can inhibit the serum levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in NAFLD rats. The expression of mRNA and a protein related to the p38 MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway were markedly decreased as a result of the Shugan-Jianpi recipe. Conclusions: The Shugan-Jianpi recipe could attenuate NAFLD progression, and its mechanism may be related to the suppression of the p38 MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway in hepatocytes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hepatoprotective Agents from Natural Resource)
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