The pharmacological and pathological studies on Taiwan folk medicine (III): The effects of bupleurum kaoi and cultivated bupleurum falcatum var. komarowi.

The protective effects of water extract from roots of Bupleurum kaoi Liu, Chao et Chuang and Bupleurum flacatum L. var. Komarowi Koso-Polj on CCl4-induced hepatoxicity have been investigated. Both B. kaoi (p less than 0.05) and B. falcatum var. komarowi (p less than 0.01) possessed more marked anti-hepatotoxic pharmacological effects than Bupleurum chinense DC., the typical strain widely used in Taiwan. The pathological improvement from treatment by means of the three drugs to alleviate CCl4-induced hepatic toxicity was estimated using morphological changes of hepatocytes, reduction of inflammatory cells infiltration and liver function tests.