Abstract: ObjectiveTo study the protective effect of astragaloside IV(AsIV)on lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced hepatocytes injury and to explore its possible mechanism.MethodsThe cultured hepatocytes were divided into 5 groups:normal group,model group,and different does of AsIV groups(16,32,and 64 μmol/L).After 24 hours of incubation,the cell viability rates were detected by(3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2yl)-2,5 diphenyleterazolium bromide(MTT)assay.The activity of serum aspartate aminotransferase(AST)and alanine aminotransferase(ALT)were detected.The content of tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α)and interleukin-6(IL-6)were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).The expression of p65 and IκBα were measured by Western blot.ResultsCompared with the normal group,the cell viability rate was decreased by 34.9%,the contents of ALT,AST,TNF-α,and IL-6 were increased and the expression of p65 was increased by 65.9%,while the expression of IκBα was decreased by 34.5%.AsIV at doses of 32 and 64 μmol/L could obviously reduce the activities of ALT,AST,the content of TNF-α,IL-6 and the expression of p65(35.6% and 57.8%),increase the the expression of IκBα(56.1% and 89.2%)and cell viability rates(38.9% and 48.1%)compared with those of the model group.ConclusionAsIV has a protective effect on LPS-induced hepatocyte injury,which is partially via attenuating inflammatory effect and the NF-κB signling pathway.