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©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Dec 27, 2025; 17(12): 112835
Published online Dec 27, 2025. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i12.112835
Published online Dec 27, 2025. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i12.112835
He-He-Shu-Yang formula alleviates liver fibrosis by inhibiting hepatic stellate cell activation in vivo and in vitro
Fo-Lai Zeng, Mei-Jie Shi, You-Sheng Mo, Huan-Ming Xiao, Yu-Bao Xie, Xiao-Ling Chi, Department of Hepatology, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510120, Guangdong Province, China
Mei-Jie Shi, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Clinical Research on Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, Guangzhou 510000, Guangdong Province, China
Huan-Ming Xiao, Xiao-Ling Chi, Chinese Medicine Guangdong Laboratory, Hengqin, Zhuhai 519000, Guangdong Province, China
Xiao-Ling Chi, Guangdong Provincial Key laboratory of Chinese Medicine for Prevention and Treatment of Refractory Chronic Diseases, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong Province, China
Co-first authors: Fo-Lai Zeng and Mei-Jie Shi.
Author contributions: Zeng FL performed the experiments, acquired and analyzed data; Zeng FL and Shi MJ wrote the manuscript, they contributed equally to this article, they are the co-first authors of this manuscript; Shi MJ and Mo YS interpreted the data; Chi XL designed and coordinated the study; and all authors approved the final version of the article.
Supported by the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Fund Project, No. 2022A1515110825 and No. 2023A1515011092; the Incubation Program for the Science and Technology Development of Chinese Medicine Guangdong Laboratory, No. HQL2024PZ033; the Chi Xiaoling National Famous Traditional Chinese Medicine Expert Inheritance Studio, Teaching Letter from the State Traditional Chinese Medicine Office[2022], No. 75; the Advantage Disease Project of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine[2020], No. 37; the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province, No. 2023B1212060063; the Project of Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine for Prevention and Treatment of Refractory Chronic Diseases, No. YN2023MB04; the Clinical Research Projects of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, No. YN2022QN05; and the Guangzhou Basic Research Program for Young Doctors in Basic and Applied Basic Research, No. 2024A04J3004.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: All procedures involving animals were reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, No. 2020 064.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xiao-Ling Chi, Chief Physician, Department of Hepatology, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, No. 111 Dade Road, Guangzhou 510120, Guangdong Pro
Received: August 8, 2025
Revised: September 10, 2025
Accepted: November 13, 2025
Published online: December 27, 2025
Processing time: 141 Days and 3.2 Hours
Revised: September 10, 2025
Accepted: November 13, 2025
Published online: December 27, 2025
Processing time: 141 Days and 3.2 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: High-performance liquid chromatography identified six key components in He-He-Shu-Yang formula (HHSY) that are effective in reducing liver fibrosis. HHSY has a definite therapeutic effect on liver fibrosis in vivo and in vitro models. HHSY’s mechanism may be through the inhibition of hepatic stellate cell activation via the nicotinamide adenine dinu