Inhibitory effect of yellow myrobalan (Terminalia chebula) extract on fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride in rat liver

Ethyl acetate layer of methanol extract (TCE) of yellow myrobalan (Terminalia chebula) contains 2.4% of chebulic acid, a standard compound in TCE, which have a strong anti-oxidative effect and was reported in our previous study. Thirty-one male SD rats were randomly divided into 5 groups (normal control, CCl4 control, TCE control, CCl4+high dose TCE, and low dose TCE). Liver fibrosis was induced by i.p. injection of CCl4 and TCE were orally administrated. TCE decreased the up-regulated malondealdehyde value and increased the down-regulated ratio of GSH/GSSG content and activities of GRd, GPx, and GST compared to the CCl4 control group. Decreased dysfunction and inflammatory reaction in liver was confirmed by alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels, relative liver weight and infiltration of neutrophils. Also, TCE inhibited phenotype change of hepatic stellate cells (HSC) by reducing α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) gene expression and protein production. Inhibition of collagen 1A1 gene expression and protein production were also confirmed. From these results, TCE may be a useful material for preventing liver fibrosis.