Chinese herbal medicine has developed new therapies for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease （NAFLD） based on its unique theory system and substantial herb remedies. In this review, 21 traditional Chinese herbs were introduced for their potential benefit in the treatment of NAFLD. Majority of them are evaluated by experimental studies and few by multicenter clinical trials. Herbal monomers as berberine and resveratrol, extracts from Polygonum hypoleucum Ohwi, and Artemisia sacrorum Ledeb., and formulae including Yinchenhao Decoction （~.~.~, YCHD）, Qushi Huayu Decoction （~＇~. ~.~, QSHYD）, and Danning Tablet （）~？）~） were discussed in detail on their therapeutic potentials. Most of these herbal medicines were proved to improve biochemical and histological changes of NAFLD both in vitro and in vivo. Also, their therapeutic activities were associated with inhibiting lipid accumulation through adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase activation or upregulating low-density lipoprotein receptor （LDLR） expression, alleviating lipid peroxidation, and reducing the production of inflammatory cytokines. Although the efficacy and safety of these herbal medicines needed to be evaluated in multicenter large-scale clinical trials, Chinese medicine is promising and effective for preventing and treating NAFLD disease.
Summary： This study aimed to investigate the therapeutical effects of Rhodiola rosea extract on rats with type 2 diabetic nephropathy （DN）. The rat type 2 DN model was established by high fat and high calorie feeding and intravenous injection of streptozocin （STZ）. Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal group, control group, low dose Rhodiola rosea group, high dose Rhodiola rosea group and Cap- topril group. Oral glucose tolerance test （OGTT） was performed to determine the impairment of glucose tolerance in the established animal model. A series of parameters including fasting blood glucose （FBG）, total cholesterol （TC）, triglyceride （TG）, creatinine clearance rate （Ccr）, 24-h urinary albumin （UA）, the ratio of kidney mass/body weight （renal index） and glomerular area were examined after 8 weeks. Moreover, the expression of transforming growth factor （TGF）-β1 in renal tissues was detected by using immunohistochemisty. At the end of the eighth week, FBG, TC, TG, Ccr, 24-h urinary albumin, the ratio of kidney mass/body weight and glomerular area were significantly reduced in Rhodiola rosea extract treatment groups as compared with those in control group. TGF-β1 expression in renal tissues of Rhodiola rosea extract treatment groups was also significantly decreased as compared with that of con- trol group. These results indicate that Rhodiola rosea extract may have a protective effect on early nephropathy in diabetic rats, which might be related to the decrease of the renal expression of TGF-β1.
