[Attempt to induce, in the rat, a hepatitis of cirrhotic origin, using amino steroids: holaphyllaminol or amino 3-beta hydroxy-20-beta pregnene-5].

Holaphyllaminol, or Amino-3 beta-Hydroxy-20-beta Pregnene-5, was administered by gastric tube to male Wistar rats at dose of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg/24 hr respectively, during 10, 20, 40 and 80 days. This substance provokes hepatic lesions beginning at the periportal region, the characteristics of which are a cholestasis, a canalar proliferation and a fibrosis. The interest of these alterations lies in the fact that they present the same features as certain human chronic hepatitis; their progression, a function of the dose of the toxin and the duration of treatment, may make possible to realisation of a model of experimental chronic hepatitis.