Objective To study the mechanism of the effects of Yiqihuoxue formula (YF) in inhibiting the
proliferation of hepatic stellate
cells (HSC) in vitro, and to investigate the
different active extracts of the formula. Methods The
proliferation of HSC was stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in vitro, and then, the YF-medicated rat serum at different time phases (Sc1 and Sc2), or normal rat serum, or different YF extracts were added, and cultivated for 24 hs, 48 hs and 72 hs, respectively. MTT assay was used to detect HSC proliferative rate and the flow cytometry (FCM) was used to detect HSC apoptotic rate. Results Both Sc1 and Sc2 could significantly inhibited the proliferation of HSC induced by LPS at different time phases (P<0.05, P<0.01). The results from FCM showed that Sc2 remarkably promoted the apoptosis of HSC (P<0.01). It was also found that different YF extracts could inhibit the proliferation of rat HSC cultured in vitro on different modes. Conclusion YF-medicated serum can restrain the proliferation of rat HSC in vitro and promote HSC apoptosis as well. YF contains different effective fractions which exert their effects on different modes.