Hepatic fibrosis (HF) is a challenging clinical problem. Both sodium alginate (SA) and oxymatrine (OM) can be used to treat HF; however, the influence of viscosity on the therapeutic efficacy of sodium alginate is currently unknown. This study used a CCl4-induced HF mouse model to screen the specifications and doses of SA and investigate its therapeutic effects on HF in combination with OM. Sodium alginate of different viscosities ameliorated HF in mice, with 232 mPa·s SA delivered at a dose of 100 mg/kg showing remarkable therapeutic effect, characterized by reduced aspartate transaminase/alanine transaminase levels, reduced expression of α-SMA, collagen I, and other related genes, and increased abundance of beneficial intestinal probiotics such as Lactococcus and Blautia. The combination treatment further improved other related indices and increased the abundance of Phascolarctobacterium and Oscillospiraceae. These results suggest that the oral administration of SA may improve HF via the "gut-liver axis" based on the gut microbiota and has potential clinical applications.
Keywords: Combination therapy; Gut-liver axis; Hepatic fibrosis; Oxymatrine; Sodium alginate.
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