Effect of Dachaihu decoction on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease model rats induced by a high-fat high-sugar diet

To establish an animal model consistent with the occurrence and development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with which to assess the effects of a classical traditional Chinese medicine formula known as Dachaihu Decoction (DD) on NAFLD. Sixty rats were randomized into four groups: control, model, pioglitazone hydrochloride (PH) and DD in equal. NAFLD was produced via administration of a high-fat high-sugar diet for 16 weeks in all but the control group. From the 13th week, a solution of PH or DD prepared with water was delivered via intragastric administration to the PH and DD groups; the remaining two groups received an equivalent volume of distilled water. Twelve hours from the last administration, we selected eight rats from each group in random. After anesthetization, the abdominal aorta blood and liver tissues were collected. The morphological changes were observed and the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), fasting plasma glucose (FBG), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4), and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-кB) were tested. Compared with the control group, the levels of serum ALT, AST, TC, TG, LDL-C and FBG, and TGF-β1, TNF-α, TLR4, NF-кB in the model group all showed significant increases (P < .01). Compared with the model group, these same indicators in the PH and DD groups all showed remarkable decreases (P < .05). The efficacy of DD in NAFLD rats was shown to be effectively equivalent to that of PH, with demonstrated effects of DD that included reductions in hepatic steatosis and serum and hepatic lipid levels, and lowered blood glucose levels. We deduce that DD has an inhibitory effect on NAFLD induced by a high-fat high-sugar diet in rats.