Hepatoprotective effects of Xiaoyao San formula on hepatic steatosis and inflammation via regulating the sex hormones metabolism

Figure 1 Modified Xiaoyao San demonstrated its capacity to alleviate inflammation and hepatic steatosis in rats subjected to a choline-deficient/high-fat diet. A: The diagram illustrating the experimental procedure outlined the systematic investigation of the protective role of modified Xiaoyao San (MXS) in rats following a 12-week choline-deficient/high-fat (CDHF) diet regimen. Starting at week 13, rats that had been fed the CDHF diet received daily intragastric administration of either saline or MXS decoction for a duration of 6 weeks; B and C: The liver weight and liver/body weight ratio of the rat groups were presented; D and E: The images from hepatic sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and Oil Red O (ORO). Black arrows indicate the liver portal areas. The lipid droplets (indicated by blue arrows) in the tissue are orange-red and the nuclei are blue; F and G: Quantitative data pertaining to ORO-positive areas and the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease activity score for each group were displayed. Data were presented as mean ± standard error of mean (n = 10/group), and were analyzed by ANOVA. ^aP < 0.05 Control vs nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) group. ^bP < 0.05 NASH vs MXS group. MXS: Modified Xiaoyao San; NASH: Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.