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ISSN 2097-3497 (Online)
CN 22-1108/R
Volume 41 Issue 10
Oct.  2025
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Article Navigation >  Journal of Clinical Hepatology  > 2025  >  41(10): 1981-1987

Research advances in the mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine for treatment of hepatic fibrosis

DOI: 10.12449/JCH251004
  • 1.

    Department of Pharmacy, Hangzhou Xixi Hospital Affiliated to Zhejiang Chinese Medical University，Hangzhou 310023，China

  • 2.

    Hospital Administration, Hangzhou Xixi Hospital Affiliated to Zhejiang Chinese Medical University，Hangzhou 310023，China

  • 3.

    Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hangzhou Xixi Hospital Affiliated to Zhejiang Chinese Medical University，Hangzhou 310023，China

Research funding:

Hangzhou Key Projects in Agriculture and Social Development (20231203A10);

Hangzhou Science and Technology Bureau Biomedical Enterprise Project (2021WJCY362);

Hangzhou Science and Technology Bureau Biomedical Enterprise Project (2021WJCY186);

Hangzhou Science and Technology Bureau Biomedical Enterprise Project (2023WJC316);

Zhejiang Provincial Medical and Health Science and Technology Program (2025KY1134);

Construction Fund of Key Medical Disciplines of Hangzhou (2025HZGF09)

More Information
  • Corresponding author: BAO Jianfeng， zjbjf1972@aliyun.com （ORCID： 0000-0002-1130-8057）
  • Received Date: 2025-07-12
  • Accepted Date: 2025-08-05
  • Published Date: 2025-10-25
    Abstract
  • Hepatic fibrosis is a key intermediate stage in the progression of various chronic liver diseases to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has a good effect in the treatment of hepatic fibrosis， but its mechanism of action remains unclear. This article introduces the pathological mechanisms of hepatic fibrosis， including etiology and pathogenesis based on TCM theory and related mechanisms in Western medicine （such as hepatic stellate cell ［HSC］ activation， hepatic fibrosis driven by metabolic reprogramming， and key signaling pathways in hepatic fibrosis）. On this basis， this article analyzes the core mechanisms of TCM in the treatment of hepatic fibrosis， including inhibiting HSC activation and proliferation， suppressing liver inflammation and modulating immunity， counteracting lipid peroxidation damage， regulating the synthesis and secretion of pro-fibrotic factors， maintaining the metabolic balance of extracellular matrix， regulating key signaling pathways， modulating gut microbiota， and inhibiting sinusoidal capillarization， in order to summarize the mechanism of action of TCM in the treatment of hepatic fibrosis and lay a foundation for better developing TCM-based therapeutics for hepatic fibrosis.

     

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