Hepatitis includes viral hepatitis and non-viral hepatitis. According to the different types of infected viruses, viral hepatitis can be categorized into at least five types: A, B, C, D, and E. Among them, type A and type E are mainly manifested as a result of the presence of a virus. Among them, type A and type E are mainly manifested as acute hepatitis, and type B, C and D are mainly manifested as chronic hepatitis, and can develop into cirrhosis and liver cancer. Non-viral hepatitis is mainly caused by ethanol, chemical poisons or drugs caused by toxic hepatitis.
The treatment of viral hepatitis includes antiviral, immune modulation and liver protection. Although some antiviral drugs such as interferon and interferon-inducing agents are available, their efficacy is not satisfactory enough, their adverse effects are serious and they are expensive. Ganoderma preparations are used in the treatment of viral hepatitis, the total effective rate is 73.1%-97.0%, and the apparent effect (including clinical cure rate) is 44.0%-76.5%. Ganoderma has the effect of immunomodulation and hepatoprotection, and thus it is of great significance as a hepatoprotective drug in the treatment of viral hepatitis and ethanol- and drug-intoxicated hepatitis. Its efficacy is manifested by the reduction or disappearance of subjective symptoms such as fatigue, loss of appetite, abdominal distension and pain in the liver area. Liver function tests such as serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) return to normal or decrease. Enlarged liver and spleen return to normal or shrink to different degrees. Clinically, the combination of Ganoderma lucidum and some drugs that can damage the liver can avoid or reduce drug-induced liver injury and protect the liver. Generally speaking, the effect on acute hepatitis is better than chronic or prolonged hepatitis.
Hunan Provincial People's Hospital used ganoderma lucidum syrup (each 100ml contains 20g of raw medicine, 33g of sucrose) to treat 50 cases of hepatitis patients (47 cases of chronic, 7 cases of acute), each time orally 20-40ml, 3 times a day. After 2 months of taking the medicine, 49 cases were effective, among which 6 cases were cured (signs and symptoms of self-consciousness disappeared, liver function test returned to normal), 19 cases were obvious effect (self-consciousness disappeared, liver shrunk, liver function test was close to normal), and 27 cases were improved (symptoms and signs were reduced). The total effective rate was 98%, accounting for 44% of the cases with obvious effect or above.
The internal medicine department of the Second Hospital attached to Hunan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine reported that 41 cases of hepatitis without jaundice were treated with ganoderma lucidum syrup (26 cases were hospitalized and 15 cases were outpatient). Ganoderma lucidum syrup (alcoholic extract of Ganoderma lucidum substrate, concentrated and then added 50% sugar, so that it contains 10% of the raw drug) was taken orally 20 ml each time, 3 times a day. In some cases, Chinese herbs and other liver-protecting drugs were also used. Symptoms, physical examination (liver and spleen size, hardness and pressure) and laboratory tests (liver function, platelet and white blood cell counts, urine routine, etc.) before and after treatment were compared to determine the clinical efficacy. Results: 22 cases (53%) were clinically cured (symptoms, signs and liver function returned to normal, liver shrunk to less than 1cm below the rib cage); 7 cases (17%) were clinically efficacious (symptoms reduced, SGPT decreased to normal or close to normal, liver and spleen shrunk by more than 1cm compared with the previous one); 7 cases (17%) were progressively improved (symptoms reduced, liver function improved slightly compared with the previous one, SGPT decreased by more than half of the original one, but still more than 100U). There were 11 cases of progress (symptoms reduced, liver function slightly improved, SGPT reduced by more than half of the original, but still above 100U, no obvious change in liver and spleen enlargement), accounting for 27%; 1 case of ineffective treatment, accounting for 3%. 25 of the 41 cases with SGPT above 300U before treatment (including 9 cases above 500U) were reduced to normal in 23 cases after 1 to 3 months of treatment. 18 cases of hospitalized patients with enlarged livers and spleens of more than 1.5cm, with the largest one at 7cm under the ribs, were reduced to less than 1cm in 5 cases, reduced in varying degrees in 5 cases, and reduced in 8 cases with different degrees. After treatment, 5 cases were reduced to less than 1cm, 5 cases were reduced to different degrees, and 8 cases were unchanged. 18 hospitalized patients had platelets lower than 100,000/mm3 before treatment, and 9 cases were increased to more than 100,000/mm3 after treatment, and the rest of them had no significant changes. They concluded that: Ganoderma lucidum syrup does have certain efficacy on hepatitis patients, but it is better for those who have less serious liver function damage and only higher SGPT, especially for patients in acute stage.
The Department of Internal Medicine of Beijing Jishuitan Hospital had used Ganoderma lucidum honey pills to treat 35 cases of various types of hepatitis, and the efficacy was summarized as follows: among the patients in this group, there were 6 cases of acute hepatitis, 26 cases of prolonged hepatitis, and 3 cases of chronic hepatitis. The diagnosis and therapeutic effect were evaluated according to the standards set by Beijing Hepatitis Collaborative Group. The patients took 1 pill of Ganoderma lucidum honey pill (each pill contains 1.5g of Ganoderma lucidum seeds) each time, 2 times a day, and the course of treatment was at least 1 month or more. No other liver-protecting drugs were used during the period of using Ganoderma lucidum. The results of the treatment were 5 cases with obvious effect, 10 cases with effective, and the total effective rate was 42.8%. The efficacy of acute hepatitis seemed to be better than that of prolonged hepatitis, and was ineffective in 3 cases of chronic hepatitis. Symptomatic efficacy for all kinds of hepatitis are better, 25 cases of 35 patients, such as fatigue, loss of appetite and abdominal distension disappeared or improved, of which 11 cases of pain in the liver area disappeared.
Fujian Taining County Hospital and Qingliu County Hospital compared the clinical efficacy of Ganoderma lucidum (deep culture fluid) syrup and western medicine on viral hepatitis. Lingzhi group 83 patients, daily oral ganoderma lucidum syrup 45 to 60 ml, *** 1 month, the total effective rate of 95.2%, while the total effective rate of 30 patients in the western medicine control group is only 80%, there is a significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05).
From the above information, it is easy to see that Ganoderma lucidum preparation has certain efficacy on hepatitis, especially on acute hepatitis, and other types of hepatitis also have certain effect. In Chinese medicine, Ganoderma lucidum has been said to "replenish liver qi" and "benefit spleen qi", and pharmacological experiments have also proved that Ganoderma lucidum has a protective effect on experimental hepatitis in animals, which is consistent with what is seen in the clinic. In addition, the immunomodulatory effect of Ganoderma lucidum may also be related to its therapeutic effect on hepatitis. It is worth considering that the regression of hepatitis is affected by many factors, and the information cited in this section mostly lacks strict control observation in experimental design, which may affect the evaluation of the efficacy, therefore, further scientific research on the efficacy of Ganoderma preparations on hepatitis is still an important research topic.
Why can Ganoderma lucidum treat hepatitis? Its therapeutic mechanism has been elucidated by a large number of pharmacological studies. Ganoderma lucidum and the triterpenoids it contains have obvious protective effects on carbon tetrachloride (CCL4), dl-ethylthionine, D-amino-galactose-induced hepatic injury, in addition to the immune hepatic injury caused by bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)+lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which can reduce serum ALT and hepatic glycerol of immunologically hepatic-injured animals. ALT and liver triglycerides (TG) in animals with immune liver injury. Pharmacological studies also proved that polysaccharides contained in Ganoderma lucidum have anti-hepatic fibrosis effects.
The immunomodulatory effect of Ganoderma lucidum is also involved in its mechanism against hepatitis. Ganoderma lucidum not only enhances the functions of monocyte macrophages, NK cells and T and B lymphocytes, but also promotes the synthesis and release of immune cytokines interleukin 2 (IL-2) and interferon gamma (IFNγ), and thus corrects immune dysfunction in hepatitis and kills hepatitis viruses through immune cells and cytokines such as IFN. The hepatoprotective effect of Ganoderma lucidum is also consistent with the ancient Chinese medical texts that describe Ganoderma lucidum as "tonifying the liver qi" and "benefiting the spleen qi".