Protective Effect of the Water Extract from Helicteres Angustifolia on Immunological Liver Injury in Mice

OBJECTIVE To observe the protective effect of the water extract from Helicteres angustifolia (WEHA) on immunological liver injury in mice. METHODS Sixty mice were randomly divided into normal group, model group，Zadaxi group (4.2 μg·kg^-1·d^-1), and high, medium, low-dose WEHA-treated group (20, 10, 5 g·kg^-1·d^-1). The normal and model groups were given normal saline orally, all mice in other groups were given the corresponding drugs. After 15 d, beside mice in normal group, other groups were injected with concanavalin A (Con A) 20 mg·kg^-1 via the tail vein to damage mice’s liver. Using automatic biochemical analyzer, the alanine aminotransferase(ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in serum were examined. The percentage of T lymphocyte subsets CD³₊、CD⁴₊、CD⁸₊ cells were detected in plasma by a flow cytometer, using ELISA for determination of the serum cytokines: interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). RESULTS Compared with model group, 10, 20 g·kg^-1·d^-1-dose WEHA could significantly decrease the activity of AST and ALT, increase percentage of CD³₊，CD⁴₊ cell and CD⁴₊/CD⁸₊. And WEHA also could significantly reduce the inflammatory cytokines IFN-γ and TNF-α level. CONCLUSION The water extract from Helicteres angustifolia is effective in protecting immunological liver injury in mice induced by Con A and this mechanism maybe closely associated with its action in regulating the T-cell subsets and reducing the inflammatory cytokines.