Kampo formula "Hochu-ekki-to" suppressed carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity in mice

The aim of this study was to investigate whether pretreatment with the Japanese herbal medicine "Hochu-ekki-to" (TJ-41) has an ameliorative effect on carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄)-induced hepatotoxicity through anorexia prevention.

Twenty-four hours before CCl₄ injection, TJ-41 or saline solution was intraperitoneally administered. Furthermore, 24 h after TJ-41 injection, mice were intraperitoneally administered 1.6 g/kg CCl₄ or olive oil. Moreover, 24 h after CCl₄/olive oil injection, mice from each group were euthanized and bled for plasma analysis.

Mice injected with CCl₄ exhibited severe anorexia. Moreover, CCl₄ increased the plasma levels of hepatic injury markers (i.e., alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase) as well as lipid peroxidation and hepatic Ca levels. Pretreatment with TJ-41 recovered the CCl₄-induced anorexia and plasma levels of the hepatic injury markers. Moreover, CCl₄-induced lipid peroxidation and hepatic Ca levels decreased upon TJ-41 pretreatment. In addition, hepatic metallothionein levels in the TJ-41 + CCl₄-treated group were decreased by >50 % compared with the levels in the TJ-41-treated group, implying that metallothionein was consumed by CCl₄-induced radicals.

Our results suggest that TJ-41 attenuates CCl₄-induced hepatotoxicity, presumably by the induction of metallothionein, which in turn scavenges radicals induced by CCl₄ exposure.