ObjectiveTo investigate the antioxidant effect of matrine and its clinical effect in the treatment of rats with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). MethodsA total of 30 rats were randomly divided into three groups: control group, NASH group, and matrine group, with 10 in each. A high-fat diet was used to establish the rat model of NASH, and matrine was given by gavage for treatment at a dose of 36 mg·kg-１·d-1. The changes in body weight and liver weight were observed in all rats. HE staining was used to observe the histopathological changes of the liver. The serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and the content of reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and malondialdehyde (MDA) in liver tissue were measured. A one-way analysis of variance was used for the comparison between multiple groups, and the SNK-q test was used for further comparison between any two groups. ResultsCompared with the NASH group, the matrine group had significant reductions in the serum levels of ALT and AST (ALT: 52.0±3.0 U/L vs 41.8±3.7 U/L, P＜0.001; AST: 233.6±9.4 U/L vs 170.1±1.8 U/L, P＜0.001). The matrine group showed marked improvement in the histopathological changes of the liver compared with the NASH group. Compared with the NASH group, the matrine group had significantly increased content of SOD and GSH in liver tissue (SOD: 17.7±2.0 μg/mg vs 27.0±3.6 μg/mg, P＜0.001; GSH: 16.5±1.6 U/mg vs 28.5±2.1 U/mg, P＜0.001) and significantly reduced content of MDA (22.9±1.9 nmol/mg vs 17.8±1.8 nmol/mg, P＜0.001). ConclusionMatrine has an antioxidant effect and a marked clinical effect in the treatment of rats with NASH.