The pharmacological and pathological studies on several hepatic protective crude drugs from Taiwan (I).

This study is to investigate the hepatic protective effect of several Taiwan crude drug extractions on the carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. The pharmacological and pathological effects of Bupleurum chinense, Phellodendron wilsonii, Clematis chinensis and Hedyotis corymbosa were analyzed by liver enzyme function test and pathological studies. However, the results of amine transferase SGOT and SGPT have shown a significant hepatic protective effect after treatment with Bupleurum chinense (P less than 0.005), Phellodendron wilsonii (P less than 0.001), Clematis chinensis (P less than 0.005) and Hedyotis corymbosa (P less than 0.005, SGPT only). The fatty degeneration around the central vein area and necrosis of the central lobule can be significantly improved by P. wilsonii and moderately changed by B. chinense or C. chinensis. Although fatty metamorphosis has been affected by H. corymbosa, various inflammatory cell infiltrations in the cytoplasm were noted.