OBJECTIVETo explore the intervention effect of Qushi Huayu Decoction (QHD) on high-fat diet induced hepatic lipid deposition and its dose-effect relationship in rats.

METHODSFatty liver model of rats were established simply by 10 weeks of high-fat diet feeding, and starting from the 7th week of modeling, they were gastric perfused respectively with saline (model group), high-dose QHD (QHDh group), low-dose QHD (QHDI group) and polyene phosphatidylcholine (PP group) for successive 4 weeks. Liver pathology by electron microscope observation with HE staining and oil red staining; contents of triglyceride (TG) and free fatty acid (FFA) in liver tissue; and serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total cholesterol (TC), and TG in rats were determined.

RESULTSIn the model group, the significant hepatic steatosis and vesicle changes as well as severe accumulation of middle- and micro-sized fatty drops in the hepatocyte plasma were found under electron microscope; with TG and FFA contents in liver tissue elevated to 3.2 and 3.5 multiples of those in normal group respectively, but, the difference between them in serum levels of ALT, AST, TG and TC were not significant. Above-mentioned pathological changes in the QHDh, QHDI and PP groups were all ameliorated significantly with the hepatic TG decreased to 57.55%, 72.32% and 71.07%, and FFA decreased to 48.95%, 65.67%, 55.57% of those in model group respectively, especially the effect of QHDh in reducing TG was superior to that of QHDI and PP (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONQHD shows an evident fatty liver antagonizing effect in rats induced by high-fat diet in a dose-dependent manner.