Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of Chinese traditional medicine heluoshugan capsule on liver fibrosis induced by Schistosoma japonicum infection in mice. Methods Liver fibrosis in mice was established by Schistosoma japonicum infection in 6 weeks. Suspension of heluoshugan prepared with normal saline was given orally to the mice， 2 capsules for 20 mice daily for 8 weeks. The level of vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF）、 focal adhesion kinase （FAK） and type I、 III collagen in liver tissue were detected by immuno-histochemistry. Results The results showed that heluoshugan improved the pathological change of the liver tissue， decreased the level of type I、 III collagen， espec-ially type III collagen （P<0.01）. The level of VEGF and FAK expression was inhibited after the administration of heluosh-ugan， though the level usually increased in liver fibrosis due to the infection. Conclusions The result suggests that heluoshugan capsule might have therapeutic effect on liver fibrosis induced by the infection of Schistosoma japonicum in mice， by inhibiting the activation of hepatic stellate cells and the pathological change of liver blood vessel.

Key words: Liver fibrosis, Schistosoma japonicum, Heluoshugan, VEGF, FAK