Ethnopharmacological relevance The Qingchangligan formula has two dosage forms, granules and decoction. Both of them have the same prescription; however, whether their protective effects are different remain elusive.

Aim of the study To compare and evaluate the protective effect of the granules and decoction of Qingchangligan formula on acute liver failure (ALF) mice induced by D-galactosamine (D-GalN) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Materials and Methods ALF was induced by intraperitoneal injection of D-GalN (700 mg/kg) plus LPS (10 μg/kg). The granules and decoction of Qingchangligan formula were administered to mice in the same dose and at the same time point, respectively, with three doses of 50 mg/kg (on day 1, day 2, and day 3) prior to D-GalN/LPS injection by intragastric administration. The mice in different groups were sacrificed at 6 h after D-GalN/LPS injection, and liver samples and blood were collected for analysis.

Results The different processed methods for the Qingchangligan resulted in a little component difference between the granules and decoction: the content of some ingredients, including Catalpol, Caffeic acid, Naringin, Emodin and Chrysophanol in granules, are higher than in decoction. Both of the two Qingchangligan formulas administration ameliorated liver injury, as evidenced by the decreased the lethality in ALF mice, the reduced transaminase levels and well-preserved liver architecture. However, the granules seemed to be more effective than the decoction in the ALF model. Mice pretreatment with the Qingchangligan formula reduced the expression of inflammatory cytokines and promoted autophagy in ALF model. Moreover, the effect on inflammation and autophagy of granules is more obvious than the decoction.

Conclusions Our findings demonstrated that the granules and decoction of Qingchangligan formula both exert a protective effect against the pathophysiology of ALF, especially the granules is more efficacious, which provide a rationale for using of the different formulations of Qingchangligan formula.