Characterization of Hepatoprotective Compounds from Chinese Medicinal Herbs with Anti-alcoholic Activity

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Many Chinese medicinal herb have been known to have preventive and therapeutic effects for ethanol intoxication, but their active components have not been identified so far. In the course of our screening to find anti-alcoholic active principles contained in Chinese medicinal herbs, the methanolic extracts of several herbs were found to show potent protective activity on liver injury induced by D-galactosamine and lipopolysaccharide in rats. By monitoring the hepatoprotective effects, we have characterized new active principles ; that is, 1) sesquiterpenes (curcarabranols) from Zedoary (Zedoariae rhizoma), 2) tritepene glycosides bupleurosides, scorzonerosides) from Bupleuri Radix (Bupleurum scorzonerifolium), 3) dammarane-type saponins (notoginsenosides, quinquenosides) from Notoginseng (Panax dammarane-type saponins (notoginsenosides, quinquenosides) from Notoginseng (Panax notoginseng) and American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium), 4) coumarins (hyuganins) from angelica funcijuga, 5) diarylheptanoids (betulaplatosides) from Betula platyphylla, 6) oleanene-type saponins (escins, assamsaponins) from Aesculus hippocastanum and Thea sinensis. These compounds with hepatoprotective activity exhibited NO production inhibitory activity in lipopolysaccharide-activated macrophages, gastroprotective superoxide scavenging, and antioxidative activities.