Suppression of the STAT3/MYC/MCL-1 pathway by the fixed Jianpi Huoxue Formula relieves early biochemical abnormalities in liver fibrosis

Table 1 Details of the herbs in the Jianpi Huoxue Formula

Chinese name	Latin name	Part(s) used	Amount (g)	Source (manufacturer)	Batch number	Processing specification (per ChP 2020)
Renshen	Panax Ginseng C. A. Mey.	Roots and rhizomesroots	10	Anguo Kangtai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.	20230115	Unprocessed (selected for intact roots, no insect damage)
Fulin	Poria Cocos (Schw.) Wolf.	Sclerotium	10	Anhui Huayuan Chinese Herbal Pieces Co., Ltd.	20230208	Decorticated (removed outer bark, cut into 1-2 cm thick slices)
Baizhu	Atractylodes Macrocephala Koidz.	Roots and rhizomesroots	10	Bozhou Huichuntang Chinese Herbal Pieces Co., Ltd.	20230312	Stir-fried (stir-fried with wheat bran until slightly yellow, to enhance spleen-invigorating effect)
Gancao	licorice	Roots and rhizomesroots	10	Ningxia Qiyuan Chinese Herbal Pieces Co., Ltd.	20230120	Honey-roasted (stir-fried with mature honey until evenly coated, to strengthen qi-tonifying effect)
Danggui	Angelicae Sinensis Radix	Roots	10	Gansu Minxian Zhongtian Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.	20230225	Unprocessed (cut into 2-4 mm thin slices, with strong aromatic odor)
Chuanxiong	Chuanxiong Rhizoma	Roots and rhizomesroots	10	Sichuan Chuanxiong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.	20230305	Unprocessed (cut into irregular thin slices, brownish-yellow cross-section)
Baishao	Paeoniae Radix Alba	Roots	10	Anhui Bozhou Baicao Chinese Herbal Pieces Co., Ltd.	20230130	Boiled (boiled in water until the cross-section is white, peeled, cut into slices, dried; raw Baishao, to nourish blood and soothe liver)
Shudihuang	Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata	Roots	10	Henan Huaiqing Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.	20230218	Steamed (steamed with rice wine, then sun-dried repeatedly until black and glossy, to tonify kidney-yin)
Taoren	Persicae Semen	Seed	10	Shaanxi Weinan Chinese Herbal Pieces Co., Ltd.	20230320	Blanched (blanched in boiling water to remove seed coat, dried, crushed slightly)
Honghua	Carthami Flos	Flower	10	Xinjiang Hotan Red Flower Co., Ltd.	20230205	Unprocessed (selected for bright red florets, no impurities)

Table 2 Baseline characteristics of the included patients

Variable	JHF group (n = 20)	Control group (n = 20)	P value
Sex (male/female)	10:10	14:6	0.167
Age	36.25 ± 12.53	39.5 ± 13.89	0.442
Etiology			0.673
HLD	17	15
HBV	2	4
Autoimmune hepatitis	1	1
Pre-treatment
ALT (U/L)	66.04 ± 11.72	67.09 ± 12.43	0.786
TBIL (μmol/L)	61.49 ± 18.97	64.29 ± 24.26	0.687
PT (s)	13.75 ± 1.72	13.16 ± 1.46	0.248
HA (ng/mL)	187.38 ± 67.98	171.84 ± 49.02	0.412
LN (ng/mL)	441.74 ± 455.09	404.33 ± 404.86	0.785
PIIINP (ng/mL)	157.95 ± 57.07	153.03 ± 82.53	0.828
CIV (ng/mL)	89.19 ± 30.76	65.75 ± 56.59	0.112
Liver stiffness (kPa)	14.12 ± 4.43	14.50 ± 5.02	0.802
Shear wave velocity (m/s)	2.10 ± 0.33	2.13 ± 0.39	0.760
Post-treatment
ALT (U/L)	30.65 ± 11.63	40.00 ± 9.27	0.008
TBIL (μmol/L)	22.47 ± 9.73	31.01 ± 10.33	0.032
PT (s)	11.25 ± 1.08	12.28 ± 1.80	0.033
HA (ng/mL)	132.09 ± 66.54	171.74 ± 52.42	0.043
LN (ng/mL)	86.44 ± 27.76	167.35 ± 178.08	0.052
PIIINP (ng/mL)	15.87 ± 5.04	76.34 ± 80.59	0.002
CIV (ng/mL)	21.83 ± 12.67	39.44 ± 32.35	0.029
Liver stiffness (kPa)	12.50 ± 3.61	13.60 ± 3.93	0.367
Shear wave velocity (m/s)	1.98 ± 0.28	2.08 ± 0.29	0.315

JHF: Jianpi Huoxue Formula; HLD: Hepatolenticular degeneration; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; TBIL: Total bilirubin; PT: Prothrombin time; HA: Hyaluronic acid; PIIINP: Procollagen N-terminal peptide; CIV: Type IV collagen; LN: Laminin.