Objective To investigate the therapeutic efficacy of a compound traditional Chinese medicine decoction combined with electroacupuncture in a rat model of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD). Methods An NAFLD rat model was established through high-fat diet(HFD) feeding plus intraperitoneal injection of carbon tetrachloride(CCl4) corn oil mixture. After 8 weeks of modeling, successfully modeled rats were randomized into five groups(n=10): HFD group, normal diet(ND) group, electroacupuncture(EA) group, compound traditional Chinese medicine decoction(TCM) group, and combined therapy(EA-TCM) group. The HFD group received continuous HFD feeding; the ND group switched to normal diet; the EA group underwent electroacupuncture at bilateral “Zusanli”(ST 36), “Fenglong”(ST 40), “Sanyinjiao”(SP 6), “Taichong”(LR 3) and a non-acupoint on the tail, once daily for 5 days per week; the TCM group received intragastric administration of compound traditional Chinese medicine decoction at 1 ml/100 g twice daily; the EA-TCM group received both electroacupuncture and decoction for 4 consecutive weeks. Liver histopathology was observed through HE staining. Serum indicators including liver function, blood lipids, oxidative stress, glucose metabolism and renal function were measured. Results Compared with the HFD group, all treatment groups showed reduced hepatic steatosis and ballooning degeneration, with the combined therapy group demonstrating the most pronounced improvement. For blood lipids, the EA-TCM group exhibited significantly decreased TC, TG and LDL-C levels and elevated HDL-C(P<0.05), while the EA and TCM groups showed comparable effects. Regarding liver function, the EA-TCM group displayed markedly reduced ALT and AST activities(P<0.05). In terms of oxidative stress, the EA-TCM group had significantly increased T-SOD activity and decreased MDA content(P<0.05). For glucose metabolism, the EA, TCM and EA-TCM groups all showed significantly lowered GLU levels(P<0.05), whereas no significant differences emerged in GSP across groups. Safety assessment revealed no significant differences in renal function indicators BUN and CREA among all groups. Conclusion Both the compound traditional Chinese medicine decoction and electroacupuncture confer measurable therapeutic benefit against NAFLD in rats, with their combined application yielding superior efficacy.
Key words
compound traditional Chinese medicine decoction /
electroacupuncture /
combination therapy /
non-alcoholic fatty liver disease /
efficacy
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