Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects of Rehmannia and Storesin (RS) on early hepatic encephalopathy (HE) in rat model.Methods HE rat model was induced by CCl₄ intragastric administration. The effects of RS on serum nitric oxide (NO) and nitric oxide synthase(NOS) as well as hippocampal tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) level of animals were evaluated in 3 dose groups. Lactulose was usedas the positive group. Results The serum NO and NOS as well as hippocampal TNF-α level of the model rats were significantly increasedcompared with that in control animals (P<0.01). The RS high dosage treatment could significantly decrease the levels of those indexes (P<0.01). Conclusion Rehmannia and Storesin is effective on early HE by decreasing the level of serum NO and NOS as well as hippocampalTNF-α.

Key words: Rehmannia, Storesin, hepatic encephalopathy, nitric oxide, nitric oxide synthase, tumor necrosis factor α, rats