Gardenia jasminoides attenuates hepatocellular injury and fibrosis in bile duct-ligated rats and human hepatic stellate cells

AIM：To investigate the anti-hepatofibrotic effects of Gardenia jasminoides in liver fibrosis.METHODS：Male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent common bile duct ligation（BDL） for 14 d and were treated with Gardenia jasminoides by gavage.The ef-fects of Gardenia jasminoides on liver fibrosis and the detailed molecular mechanisms were also assessed in human hepatic stellate cells（LX-2） in vitro.RESULTS：Treatment with Gardenia jasminoides decreased serum alanine aminotransferase（BDL vs BDL ＋ 100 mg/kg Gardenia jasminoides,146.6 ± 15 U/L vs 77 ± 6.5 U/L,P = 0.0007） and aspartate aminotransferase（BDL vs BDL ＋ 100 mg/kg Gardenia jasminoides,188 ± 35.2 U/L vs 128 ± 19 U/L,P = 0.005） as well as hydroxyproline（BDL vs BDL ＋ 100 mg/kg Gardenia jasminoides,438 ± 40.2 μg/g vs 228 ± 10.3 μg/g liver tissue,P = 0.004） after BDL.Furthermore,Gardenia jasminoides significantly reduced liver mRNA and/or protein expression of transforming growth factor β1（TGF-β1）,collagen type？Ⅰ？（Col？Ⅰ） and α-smooth muscle actin（α-SMA）.Gardenia jasminoides significantly suppressed the upregulation of TGF-β1,Col？Ⅰand α-SMA in LX-2 exposed to recombinant TGF-β1.Moreover,Gardenia jasminoides inhibited TGF-β1-induced Smad2 phosphorylation in LX-2 cells.CONCLUSION：Gardenia jasminoides exerts antifibrotic effects in the liver fibrosis and may represent a novel antifibrotic agent.