Objective: To establish animal models of fatty liver due to liver depression and spleen deficiency that were suitable for activity discovery of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) compounds

efficacy evaluation

new drug research and development and correspondence between formula and syndrome of TCM. Method: A syndrome scoring table that was suitable for evaluating the rat models was established according to the evolution laws of etiology and pathogenesis of TCM and the modern clinical pathological mechanism. At the same time

bifendate pills and Sanqi Zhigan pills were selected as drug counterevidence for the models. Rats in model groups were given different proportions of high-fat and low-protein fodder and different concentrations of alcohol every day

and intraperitoneally injected with pig serum twice a week. Drug groups were given with respectively bifendate pills and Sanqi Zhigan pills (8.1 mg·kg-1

2.7 g·kg-1) for 14 consecutive days. General status

weight

daily appetite and water quantity of the animals were observed during the experiment

and TCM syndromes were scored. The levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT)

aspartate aminotransferase (AST)

γ-glutamine transpeptidase (γ-GT)

total cholesterol (TC)

triglycerides (TG)

low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C)

and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) in serum were detected. And the pathological changes of liver tissue were observed after the experiment. Result: Compared with normal group

body weight

daily food and water intake of rats increased slowly in model group

and the contents of ALT

AST

γ-GT

TC

TG and LDL-C increased significantly

while the level of HDL-C decreased. Pathological examination showed that fatty degeneration and fat granule were observed in hepatocytes of rats in model group. Behavioral observation found that main syndromes and minor symptoms of rats in model group conformed to the syndrome manifestation of liver depression and spleen deficiency

which suggested that the three model groups were established successfully. Among them

three rats died in model group 1

and one rat died in model group 2. All the above lesions manifestation can be alleviated by drug counterevidence. Conclusion: The animal model of fatty liver due to liver depression and spleen deficiency shows an obviously lower mortality and shorter duration

and can be used for research of correlation between prescription and syndrome and its mechanism.