"Tao-He-Cheng-Qi-Tang (THCQT) for medical purposes
has been known for centuries. It has been recognized to
as a means to treat diabetes mellitus, amenorrhea, chronic
hepatitis, and chronic pyelonephritis. In order to test
for THCQT’s ability to scavenge free radicals, we examined the ability of THCQT to react with hydroxyl
radical to investigate the effect of THCQT on acetaminophen (APAP)-induced hepatitis. Male Wistar rats
were administered with 0.3 or 0.5 g/kg of THCQT, and
silymarin (25 mg/kg) as the positive control group. All
testing substances were orally administered 1 h before
the intraperitoneal injection of APAP (500 mg/kg). After
24 h of APAP injection, the rats were sacrificed to
observe their liver histopathology, and evaluated for
their glutamate oxalate transaminase (GOT), glutamate
pyruvate transaminase (GPT), and lipid peroxidation
(LPO) level. THCQT significantly inhibited LPO level
induced by Fe3+/ascorbic acid in vitro. THCQT protected
the liver from APAP-induced injuries by preventing the
increase of liver function markers, GOT and GPT. THCQT
even showed more significantly effects than the silymarin.
Although THCQT did not significantly change the increase
of hepatic LPO induced by APAP, THCQT did increase
hepatic glutathione (GSH) more significantly than the
APAP group and the silymarin group. We concluded
that the antioxidant abilities and anti-hepatitis effect of
THCQT may be potentially useful in counteracting free
radical-mediated diseases."
