Hepatoprotective effect of Cichorium intybus L., a traditional Uighur medicine, against carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic fibrosis in rats

Table 1 Effect of a Cichorium intybus L. extract on organ coefficients in rats with hepatic fibrosis

Treatment	Liver coefficient %	Spleen coefficient %	Kidney coefficient %
Control	2.18 ± 0.17	0.16 ± 0.01	0.65 ± 0.02
CCl4	3.59 ± 0.62b	0.26 ± 0.05b	0.68 ± 0.08
6 g/kg CIE + CCl4	3.45 ± 0.27	0.29 ± 0.07	0.67 ± 0.09
18 g/kg CIE + CCl4	3.20 ± 0.21d	0.27 ± 0.11	0.66 ± 0.07
54 g/kg CIE + CCl4	3.10 ± 0.13d	0.22 ± 0.04	0.65 ± 0.04
FFBJRGP (780 mg/kg)	3.38 ± 0.37	0.24 ± 0.06	0.64 ± 0.08

Values are expressed as the mean ± SD, n = 12. Compared with control group,

^bP < 0.01; Compared with CCl₄-exposed group,

^dP < 0.01. CIE: Cichorium intybus L. extract; FFBJRGP: Fu Fang Bie Jia Ruan Gan Pian.

Table 2 Effect of a Cichorium intybus L. extract on serum alanine aminotransferase and aminotransferase levels in rats

Treatment	AST (U/L)	ALT (U/L)
Control	60.84 ± 13.36	48.74 ± 8.98
CCl4	711.14 ± 165.78b	738.81 ± 231.66b
6 g/kg CIE + CCl4	194.86 ± 44.25d	123.65 ± 29.93d
18 g/kg CIE + CCl4	154.29 ± 41.97d	120.18 ± 28.26d
54 g/kg CIE + CCl4	149.04 ± 34.44d	100.72 ± 27.19d
FFBJRGP (780 mg/kg)	132.75 ± 34.78d	71.57 ± 15.65d

Values are expressed as the mean ± SD, n = 12. Compared with control group,

^bP < 0.01; Compared with CCl₄-exposed group,

^dP < 0.01. AST: Aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; CIE: Cichorium intybus L. extract; FFBJRGP: Fu Fang Bie Jia Ruan Gan Pian.

Table 3 Effect of a Cichorium intybus L. extract on serum hexadecenoic acid, laminin and hydroxyproline levels in rats

Treatment	HA (pg/mL)	LN (ng/mL)	HyP (μg/g)
Control	315.46 ± 49.54	18.27 ± 3.50	165.57 ± 21.34
CCl4	756.85 ± 57.82b	40.47 ± 2.14b	395.17 ± 94.31b
6 g/kg CIE + CCl4	595.62 ± 76.19d	27.92 ± 3.37d	320.42 ± 63.35d
18 g/kg CIE + CCl4	573.13 ± 65.42d	28.17 ± 2.87d	289.00 ± 89.99d
54 g/kg CIE + CCl4	548.50 ± 65.09d	28.69 ± 3.32d	263.33 ± 75.82d
FFBJRGP (780 mg/kg)	442.72 ± 18.84d	30.70 ± 3.30d	306.90 ± 51.85d

Values are expressed as the mean ± SD, n = 12. Compared with control group,

^bP < 0.01; Compared with CCl₄-exposed group,

^dP < 0.01. HA: Hexadecenoic acid; LN: Laminin; HyP: Hydroxyproline; CIE: Cichorium intybus L. extract; FFBJRGP: Fu Fang Bie Jia Ruan Gan Pian.

Table 4 Effect of a Cichorium intybus L. extract on liver glutathione, superoxide dismutase and malondialdehyde levels in rats

Treatment	GSH	MDA	SOD
	(mg/gprot)	(nmol/mgprot)	(U/mgprot)
Control	6.58 ± 0.62	1.93 ± 0.18	334.12 ± 13.75
CCl4	2.52 ± 0.69b	4.01 ± 1.00b	193.58 ± 20.76b
6 g/kg CIE + CCl4	2.93 ± 0.99	3.73 ± 0.61	223.23 ± 38.20d
18 g/kg CIE + CCl4	3.03 ± 0.76	3.25 ± 0.73d	241.29 ± 40.21d
54 g/kg CIE + CCl4	3.11 ± 0.81	2.76 ± 0.51d	269.98 ± 33.77d
FFBJRGP (780 mg/kg)	4.44 ± 1.28d	2.04 ± 0.70d	274.43 ± 32.62d

Values are expressed as the mean ± SD, n = 12. Compared with control group,

^bP < 0.01; Compared with CCl₄-exposed group,

^dP < 0.01. GSH: Glutathione; MDA: Malondialdehyde; SOD: Superoxide dismutase; CIE: Cichorium intybus L. extract; FFBJRGP: Fu Fang Bie Jia Ruan Gan Pian.