Abstract: Objective To investigate the changes of intestinal barrier function and protective effects of Huazhirougan granule in rats with alcoholic fatty liver disease. Methods Sixty Sprague-Dawley （SD） rats were randomly divided into control，model，low （1.1 g·kg-1·d-1），middle （2.2 g·kg-1·d-1） and high dose（4.4 g·kg-1·d-1） of Huazhirougan granule treatment groups；Rats in model and treatment group were fed with 56% alcohol once a day for five weeks to establish alcoholic fatty liver model，and the changes in bacterial translocation （BT），intestinal mucosal permeability （represented by lactulose （L）/ mannitol （M），e.g. L/M%），blood biochemistry，intestinal mucosa and liver pathohistoloy were determined. Results At the end of fifth week，the changes of liver steatosis and inflammation were moderate in model rats，and the BT，L/M %，liver index and serum ALP were 70.0%，（0.38±0.18）%，（427.1±126.6）IU/L and （4.3±0.6）%，respectively，significantly higher than those in the control group[10.0%，（0.23±0.07）%，（306.4±67.1）IU/L and （3.6±0.4%），respectively，P<0.05）]；Huazhirougan treatment in the three doses significantly eased liver steatosis and inflammation; The L/M % and liver index in low dose treatment group were （0.27±0.06）% and （3.8±0.3）%，significantly lower than those in model group（P<0.05）；The BT and liver biochemistry were also improved in the treatment group as compared to those in the control；In middle and high dose treatment group，the L/M % were （0.22±0.16）% and（0.18±0.07）%，and the liver index were （3.7±0.3）% and （3.6±0.2）%，significantly lower than those in model group（P<0.01）；Similarly，in middle and high dose treatment group，the BT were 10.0% and 22.2%，ALT were（39.8±5.0）U/L and（40.8±5.6）U/L，AST were（113.4±38.3） U/L and（111.2±28.9） U/L，and ALP were （334.4±47.6） IU/L and （350.2±112.2） IU/L，respectively，significantly lower than those in model group[70.0%，（54.1±17.2）U/L，（163.2±67.5） U/L，（427.1±126.1）IU/L，respectively，P<0.05）]. Conclusions The rats with alcoholic fatty liver disease have intestinal barrier dysfunction， and the herbal Huazhirougan granule has a protective effect on intestinal barrier and liver function.

Key words: Alcoholic fatty liver, Intestinal mucosal permeability, Bacterial translocation, Huazhirougan granule, Rats