There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.
Abstract
Recently, antifibrogenetic effects of Sho-saiko-to, a traditional herbal medicine
in Japan, have been shown in experimental hepatic fibrosis, and flavonoids in Sho-saiko-to
are suspected as active ingredients. Thus, we evaluated the effects of baicalein,
a major flavonoid in Sho-saiko-to, on proliferation and protein synthesis in cultured
rat hepatic stellate cells. Baicalein decreased [3H]thymidine incorporation in cells
stimulated with platelet-derived growth factor-B subunit homodimer (PDGF-BB) in a
concentration-dependent manner (approximate ED50<10 microM, P<0.0001), and the decrease
observed with 10 microM baicalein was greater than those observed with 5 microM retinol
or 500 microM 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX). Baicalein consistently decreased
[3H]thymidine incorporation and cell number in cells stimulated with fetal calf serum
(ED50<10 microM, P<0.0001), and moderately suppressed [3H]leucine and [3H]proline
incorporation (P<0.0001). These results demonstrate the strong antiproliferative effect
of baicalein in hepatic stellate cells, showing the possibility of baicalein as an
antifibrogenetic drug for hepatic fibrosis.