Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of Fuzhenghuayu (FZHY) capsule on peripheral blood cytokines secretion, liver function and liver cirrhosis in hepatitis B-related cirrhosis patients with effectively antiviral therapy.Methods A total of 63 patients with hepatitis B-related cirrhosis treated with entecavir effectively were enrolled in this study, including 30 cases treated with entecavir combined with FZHY as FZHY group and 33 cases treated with entecavir only as control group. Twenty healthy cases were set as normal group. Liver cirrhosis, liver function [alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), albumin (Alb), total bilirubin (TBiL)] and the secretion of peripheral blood cytokines interleukin (IL) -1α, IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-13, monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1, interferon(IFN)-γ, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, TGF-β1) were measured after one-year treatment, respectively.Results After treatment, the levels of ALT and AST decreased significantly in FZHY group (P<0.05, P<0.01). Liver stiffness in FZHY group (P<0.05) and control group were both decreased. Compared with that in control group, the levels of TGF-β1 and IL-13 declined significantly in FZHY group after treatment (P<0.01).Conclusion FZHY capsule could relieve the progress of liver cirrhosis in effectively antiviral patients through inhibiting the secretion of inflammatory cytokines.

Key words: Fuzhenghuayu capsule, Liver cirrhosis of hepatitis B, Cytokines, Liver stiffness scans