Identification and mechanistic investigation of ellagitannins from Osbeckia octandra that attenuate liver fibrosis via the TGF-ß/SMAD signaling pathway.

Fibrosis is a major problem in chronic liver disease with limited treatment options due to its complex nature. Herbal medicines are often used as an alternative. The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic potential of Osbeckia octandra and to identify its active compounds and regulatory pathways. The effects of crude leaf suspension and boiled leaf extract were investigated in an animal model, and the extract was found to be the more effective treatment. Three major bioactive compounds, pedunculagin, casuarinin, and gallic acid, were isolated from the extract using the hepatic stellate cell line, LX-2-based antifibrotic effect evaluation system. The results showed that all these compounds ameliorated LX-2 in fibrotic state. This inhibitory mechanism was confirmed through the TGF-ß/SMAD signaling pathway. Collectively, the presence of these compounds in O. octandra suggests its potential as a treatment for liver fibrosis.

Anti-Fibrotic and Anti-Angiogenic Activities of Osbeckia octandra Leaf Extracts in Thioacetamide-Induced Experimental Liver Cirrhosis.

Chronic liver inflammation has become a major global health concern. In the absence of clinical surrogate markers to diagnose inflammatory liver disease, the intervention with effective drugs in modern medicine tends to be late. In Sri Lanka, traditional medical practitioners prescribe herbal preparations from Osbeckia octandra for the prevention and treatment of liver disorders. To test the efficacy of such treatments, we have administered thioacetamide (TAA) to male Wistar rats to induce chronic liver damage (disease control; DC) and examined how various leaf extracts: crude leaf suspension (CLS), boiled leaf extract (BLE), sonicated leaf extract (SLE), methanol leaf extract (MLE) and hexane leaf extract (HLE) of O. octandra ameliorate TAA-induced liver disease. The CLS, BLE and SLE treatments in cirrhotic rats significantly attenuated disease-related changes, such as liver weight and hepato-enzymes. The mRNA levels of Tnf-α were significantly decreased by 3.6, 10 and 3.9 times in CLS, BLE and SLE compared to DC. The same treatments resulted in significantly lower (19.5, 4.2 and 2.4 times) α-Sma levels compared to DC. In addition, Tgf-ß1 and Vegf-R2 mRNA expressions were significantly lower with the treatments. Moreover, BLE expressed a strong anti-angiogenic effect. We conclude that CLS, BLE and SLE from O. octandra have potent hepatic anti-fibrotic effects in TAA-induced liver cirrhosis.