Review Article

A Survey of Therapeutic Effects of Artemisia capillaris in Liver Diseases

Table 1

Experimental results based on key activities of Artemisia capillaris.

Herb names (ingredients, country)ExtractsTypeDosesModelResultsReferences

Antioxidant effects
A. capillaris and Picrorhiza Rhizome 2 : 1 (Korea)WaterIn vivo200 mg/kg-injected ratsLiver weight↓
AST, ALT↓
Protein contents in the liver↑
Hydroxyproline↓
[16]
A. capillaris (Korea)WaterIn vivo0.05, 0.1 g/kgHigh-fat diet induced obese miceSOD↑
GSH-px↓
CAT↓
GSH↓
TBARS↓
Carbonyl value↓
AST, ALT↓
[17]
A. capillaris (China)WaterIn vivoRats with bile duct ligationMDA↓
SOD↑
GSH-Px↑
CAT↑
[18]
A. capillaris (Korea)WaterIn vivo50, 100 mg/kgAlcohol-pyrazole-fed ratAST, ALT↓
ALP↓
LDH↓
ROS↓
TAC↑
GSH↑
GSH-Px↑
GSH-Rd↑
SOD↑
Catalase↑
Nrf2↑
HO1↑
[19]

Antisteatotic effects
A. capillaris (Korea)EthanolIn vitro100 g/mLFFAs-treated HepG2 Lipid accumulation↓[13]
A. capillaris (Korea)In vivo100 mg/kgC57BL/6J mice fed a high-fat dietMitochondrial β-oxidation↑
Fatty acid synthase↓
Glycerol-3-phosphate Dehydrogenase↓
[14]
A. capillaris (scoparone, Korea)In vivoHigh-fat diet induced obese ratsTG↓
TC↓
LDL↓
HDL↑
SOD↑
[20]

Anti-inflammatory effects
A. capillaris (Korea)WaterIn vitroRINm5F rat insulinoma cellsNO↓
NF-κB↓
Insulin release↑
[21]
A. capillaris (Korea)WaterIn vitroLPS-induced HepG2 and rat liveriNOS↓
COX-2↓
TNF-α
NF-κB↓
[22]
A. capillaris (Korea)MethanolIn vitro10 g/mLRat splenocytesiNOS↓
COX-2↓
TNF-α
IL-6↓
[23]

Antiviral effects
A. capillaris (pumilaside A, China)EthanolIn vitroHepG2.2.15HBsAg↓
HBeAg↓
HBV DNA↓
[24]
A. capillaris (p-hydroxyacetophenone derivatives, China)In vitroHepG2.2.15HBV DNA↓[25]

Choleretic effects
A. capillaris (Japan)WaterIn vivo3 mL/dayRatsBile flow↑[26]
A. capillaris (Japan)In vivo50 mg/kgRatsBile secretion↑[8]

Antifibrotic effects
A. capillaris (Korea)WaterIn vivo50 mg/kgRats with bile duct ligationα-SMA↓
PDGF-
TGF-
Col1A1↓
TIMP1↓
TIMP2↓
[27]
A. capillaris (β-sitosterol, Korea)In vitro120 MLX2 cellsCollagen-1↓
α-SMA↓
Caspases 3, 9↑
BAX↑
Bcl-2↓
Mcl-1↓
pMEK↓
pERK↓
[7]
A. capillaris (β-sitosterol, Korea)In vivo40 mg/kgDMN-induced fibrotic mouseCollagen-1↓
α-SMA↓
[7]
A. capillaris (China)WaterIn vivo-induced ratsPDGF-
TGF-
CTGF↓
[3]

Antitumor effects
A. capillaris (capillin, Japan)WaterIn vitro2 MHL-60 cellsCell growth↓
JNK/SAPK activation
Cytochrome c release
[28]
A. capillaris (China)WaterIn vitro25~200 g/mLSMMC-7721, human hepatoma cell lineCell growth↓
arrest
[29]