Abstract:Objective To investigate the protective effect of epicatechin against liver fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in rats. Methods A total of 80 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into normal control group, model group, colchicine group (0.1 mg/kg), high-dose epicatechin group (100 mg/kg), and low-dose epicatechin group (25 mg/kg). The rats in the normal control group were given intraperitoneal injection of olive oil, and those in the other groups were given intraperitoneal injection of CCl4 to establish a model of liver fibrosis. The rats in the administration groups were given the corresponding drug by gavage since the first day of modeling, and those in the normal control group and the model group were given an equal volume of normal saline by gavage, once a day for 6 consecutive weeks. After the last administration, hepatic wet weight was measured and liver index was calculated; the microplate method was used to measure the serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT); hematoxylin and eosin staining and Masson collagen staining were used to observe liver pathological changes;Western blot was used to measure the protein expression of alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and collagen α1 (Collα1) in the liver. Results Compared with the model group, the epicatechin groups had significant reductions in liver index, serum levels of ALT and AST, and protein expression of α-SMA and Collα1 in the liver, as well as significant improvements in liver pathological indices. Conclusion Epicatechin has a certain protective effect on CCl4-induced liver fibrosis in rats, possibly by inhibiting the expression of α-SMA and Collα1.