Yabe N, Matsui H
Department of Hygiene, Dokkyo University School of Medicine, Tochigi, Japan.
J Ethnopharmacol. 1997 Mar;56(1):31-44. doi: 10.1016/s0378-8741(96)01497-3.
A spirits-extracted fraction of berries of Ampelopsis brevipedunculata (Maxim.) Trautv. (Vitaceae) is used in Japanese folk medicine to treat liver disease. Since such an extract has been shown to inhibit formation of collagen fibers by rat hepatic M cells, it was felt that the extract acts as an inhibitor of hepatic fibrosis. Amino acid analysis of fibrous substances developing on M cell layers and of a cell lysate fraction indicated that an A. brevipedunculata extract inhibited collagen formation. Biosynthesis of non-collagenous proteins and collagen was evaluated by measuring the extent of [3H]tryptophan incorporation into a protein fraction and the rate of [3H]proline incorporation into a collagenase-digestible fraction, respectively. In contrast to the results of the analysis of the fibrous substances, the A. brevipedunculata extract failed to decrease synthesis of non-collagenous proteins and collagen unless cell proliferation was inhibited. There was no detectable level of collagenolytic activity in the M cell culture with the A. brevipedunculata extract. The decrease in accumulation of collagen, therefore, appeared to be a consequence of the proliferation-inhibitory effect of the A. brevipedunculata extract. Such inhibitory activity was found in a macromolecular fraction that contained abundant sugars but lacked proteins.
短梗霉（葡萄科）浆果的酒精提取物在日本民间医学中用于治疗肝病。由于这种提取物已被证明能抑制大鼠肝M细胞形成胶原纤维，因此认为该提取物可作为肝纤维化的抑制剂。对M细胞层上形成的纤维物质和细胞裂解物部分进行氨基酸分析表明，短梗霉提取物能抑制胶原形成。分别通过测量[3H]色氨酸掺入蛋白质部分的程度和[3H]脯氨酸掺入胶原酶可消化部分的速率来评估非胶原蛋白质和胶原的生物合成。与纤维物质分析结果相反，除非细胞增殖受到抑制，短梗霉提取物不会降低非胶原蛋白质和胶原的合成。在含有短梗霉提取物的M细胞培养物中未检测到胶原酶活性。因此，胶原积累的减少似乎是短梗霉提取物增殖抑制作用的结果。这种抑制活性存在于一个含有丰富糖类但缺乏蛋白质的大分子部分中。
