Objective The aim of this study was to investigate whether pretreatment with the Japanese herbal medicine ''Hochuekki-to'' (TJ-41) has an ameliorative effect on carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 )-induced hepatotoxicity through anorexia prevention. Methods Twenty-four hours before CCl 4 injection, TJ-41 or saline solution was intraperitoneally administered. Furthermore, 24 h after TJ-41 injection, mice were intraperitoneally administered 1.6 g/kg CCl 4 or olive oil. Moreover, 24 h after CCl 4 /olive oil injection, mice from each group were euthanized and bled for plasma analysis. Results Mice injected with CCl 4 exhibited severe anorexia. Moreover, CCl 4 increased the plasma levels of hepatic injury markers (i.e., alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase) as well as lipid peroxidation and hepatic Ca levels. Pretreatment with TJ-41 recovered the CCl 4 -induced anorexia and plasma levels of the hepatic injury markers. Moreover, CCl 4 -induced lipid peroxidation and hepatic Ca levels decreased upon TJ-41 pretreatment. In addition, hepatic metallothionein levels in the TJ-41 ? CCl 4 -treated group were decreased by [50 % compared with the levels in the TJ-41-treated group, implying that metallothionein was consumed by CCl 4 -induced radicals.
ConclusionOur results suggest that TJ-41 attenuates CCl 4 -induced hepatotoxicity, presumably by the induction of metallothionein, which in turn scavenges radicals induced by CCl 4 exposure.