Preventive and therapeutic effects of Babaodan on hepatic encephalopathy in rats with acute liver failure

Objective To investigate the preventive and therapeutic effects of Babaodan on hepatic encephalopathy in rats with acute liver failure and possible mechanisms. Methods A total of 50 Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal group, model group, low-dose Babaodan group, high-dose Babaodan group, and lactulose group. The rats in the low-dose Babaodan group, the high-dose Babaodan group, and the lactulose group were given the corresponding drugs by gavage once a day, and those in the normal group and the model group were given an equal volume of 0. 3% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose. On day 4 of gavage, intraperitoneal injection of thioacetamide (350 mg/kg) was performed to induce hepatic encephalopathy, and the rats in the normal group were injected with an equal volume of normal saline, once every 24 hours for 3 times. The rats were sacrificed at 12 hours after the last injection. HE staining was used to observe pathological changes of the liver and the brain; related kits were used to measure blood ammonia and liver function parameters; RT-PCR was used to measure the changes in related genes in liver and brain tissues. The one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison between multiple groups, and the least significant difference t-test was used for further comparison between two groups. Results Compared with the model group, the low-and high-dose Babaodan groups had significant reductions in the levels of blood ammonia, total bilirubin, total bile acid, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase (all P < 0. 05) and a significant increase in total protein level (P < 0. 05) , and the high-dose Babaodan group had a significant increase in albumin (P < 0. 05) . Both the low-and high-dose Babaodan groups had significant improvements in liver necrosis and inflammation and brain necrosis and karyopyknosis. Compared with the model group, the low-and high-dose Babaodan groups had significant reductions in the mRNA expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) , interleukin-1 (IL-1) , interleukin-6, nuclear factor-kappa B, Bax, caspase-3, and caspase-8 in liver tissue (all P < 0. 05) , and the high-dose Babaodan group had a significant increase in the mRNA expression of Bcl-2 (P < 0. 05) ; the low-and high-dose Babaodan groups also had significant reductions in the mRNA expression of IL-1, TNF-α, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and glutamine synthetase in brain tissue (all P < 0. 05) . Conclusion Babaodan can effectively regulate the expression of inflammatory factors, inhibit the apoptosis and necrosis of hepatocytes, and reduce the production of blood ammonia and inflammatory infiltration, thus alleviating brain injury and exerting therapeutic effect on hepatic encephalopathy in rats with acute liver failure.