Abstract: Objective To study the effect of total flavonoids of astragalus （TFA） on expression of fatty acid translocase and cyclooxygenase 2 in rats with DMN-induced liver cirrhosis. Methods Fifty-three male SD rats were allocated randomly into control group （n=10） and model group （n=43）. Rats in model group were given DMN by intraperitoneal injection for 4 weeks. At the 3rd experimental week,the model rats were randomly divided into model group （n=14） and TFA treatment groups （n=14,at dose of 15 mg.kg^-1 and n=15,at dose of 30 mg.kg^-1）. At the end of 4 week experiment,the rats were sacrificed,and liver samples were collected. Sirus red staining was performed in liver tissues. Total RNA of liver tissues were isolated with TRizol reagents,and real time PCR was adopted to determine fatty acid translocase and cyclooxygenase 2 mRNA and their protein expression by PCR and Western blot. Results Collagen staining in model group increased markedly,and staining in treatment groups decreased markedly;the fatty acid translocase mRNA in model group was （0.098±0.08） and its protein was （1.05±0.076）,while in small dosage group were（0.58±0.04） and（0.67±0.021）,respectively,and in large dosage group were （0.45±0.07） and [（0.31±0.072）,respectively,both P<0.05];the cyclooxygenase 2 mRNA in model group was （0.78±0.044） and its protein was （1.48±0.13）,while in small dosage group were （0.52±0.010） and （1.24±0.11）,respectively,and in large dosage group were （0.28±0.049） and [（0.68±0.09）,respectively, both P<0.01]. Conclusion The anti-fibrotic effect of TFA might be associated with the inhibition of fatty acid translocase and cyclooxygenase 2 in rats with DMN-induced liver cirrhosis.

Key words: Liver cirrhosis, Total flavonoids of astragalus, Fatty acid translocase, Cyclooxygenase 2, Rats