Table 1.
Characteristics of the study populations (mean ± SD)
| Parameter | Control group (n = 15) | Conventional group1 (n = 20) | AHM group2 (n = 20) |
| Age (yr) | 40.2 ± 10.4 | 41.6 ± 15.4 | 40.5 ± 13.9 |
| Sex (M/F) | 15/0 | 15/5 | 17/3 |
| HBV | - | 12 | 12 |
| HCV | - | 8 | 7 |
| Bilharziasis | - | 0 | 1 |
| Fibrosis Stage | |||
| F1 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| F2 | 0 | 9 | 10 |
| F3 | 0 | 8 | 7 |
| F4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total bilirubin (mg/dL) | 0.55 ± 0.20 | 1.19 ± 0.20 | 1.18 ± 0.19 |
| ALT (IU/L) | 19.4 ± 8.2 | 87.4 ± 8.4 | 85.9 ± 9.1 |
| AST (IU/L) | 25.0 ± 4.3 | 50.8 ± 6.7 | 51.0 ± 4.2 |
| ALP (IU/L) | 55.0 ± 14.3 | 225.0 ± 85.6 | 223.0 ± 74.5 |
| Albumin (g/dL) | 4.4 ± 0.1 | 4.2 ± 0.2 | 4.3 ± 0.1 |
| INR | 0.88 ± 0.22 | 1.47 ± 0.3 | 1.51 ± 0.2 |
1
Patients treated with the conventional treatment with placebo (starch) for 12 consecutive weeks;
2
Patients treated with the conventional treatment with 0.15 g/d AHM for 12 consecutive weeks. AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; ALP: Alkaline phosphatase; INR: International normalization ratio; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; AHM: Aloe vera high molecular weight fractions.