A novel herbal formulation "LiverCare" differentially regulates primary rat hepatocyte and hepatocarcinoma cell proliferation in vitro.

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) plays an important role in hepatocyte proliferation. HGF expression is regulated by various signaling molecules and nuclear receptors. In the present study, LiverCare(®) (LC), a novel polyherbal formulation (The Himalaya Drug Company, Bangalore, India), was evaluated for its efficacy, using co-cultures of primary rat hepatocytes-non-parenchymal cells (NPCs) and human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2). The rate of primary hepatocyte co-culture proliferation was significantly and dose-dependently increased by LC as determined by [(3)H]thymidine incorporation into newly synthesized DNA and cell proliferation assay. LC also increased HGF expression in primary hepatocyte co-culture. Albumin and urea content remained constant during proliferation of hepatocyte co-cultures in the presence of LC with decreased activity of alanine aminotransferase. It is interesting that LC inhibited incorporation of [(3)H]thymidine into DNA in HepG2 cells. LC enhanced peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α expression during hepatocyte proliferation, whereas tumor necrosis factor-α expression remained unaffected. In conclusion, our study clearly showed that LC differentially regulates primary rat hepatocytes and human hepatocarcinoma cell proliferation. LC may be a promising candidate for treating degenerative liver diseases by enhancing liver regeneration.