Protective effect of the herbal medicine Gan‑fu‑kang against carbon tetrachloride‑induced liver fibrosis in rats

Abstract The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of a herbal medicine formula, Gan-fu-kang (GFK), on the treatment of liver fibrosis in rats and the mechanisms via which it exerts its effect. Liver fibrosis was induced in rats by subcutaneous injection of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) at 0.5 mg/kg body weight, twice a week for 8 weeks. The rats were randomly selected to receive saline or GFK at 31.25, 312.5 or 3,125 mg/kg body weight/day between weeks 9 and 20. An additional group of rats without CCl4 injection was used as the baseline. In the liver fibrosis model rats, an increase in plasma liver enzymes, fibrotic markers in serum and liver fibrosis, production of α-smooth muscle actin, matrix metalloproteinase-2 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1, synthesis of collagen and activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway were observed. GFK administration was found to significantly reduce these changes. Results of this study demonstrate that GFK has a protective and therapeutic effect on liver fibrosis induced by CCl4, which may be associated with its inhibitory activity on HSC proliferation and collagen synthesis, effectively downregulating Wnt/β-catenin signaling.