ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effects of decoction, ethanol extract, and formulated granules of different processed products of Polygonum multiflorum in conventional doses on kidney injury, renal cell apoptosis and expression of related protein in SD rats. Methods Half male and half female SD rats were randomly divided into 7 groups according to their body weight:normal control group, traditional water extract of raw Polygonum multiflorum group(SW group),traditional water extract of prepared Polygonum multiflorum group(ZW group), 70% alcohol extract of raw Polygonum multiflorum group(SA group),70% alcohol extract of prepared Polygonum multiflorum group(ZA group), raw Polygonum multiflorum granules without water decocting extraction group(SK group)and prepared Polygonum multiflorum granules without water decocting extraction group(ZK group). Among them,the rats in the normal group were intragastrically given distilled water,and the other groups were treated with the corresponding drug liquids[6 g/(kg·d)of crude drug]for consecutive 30 days. At the end of the experiment,changes in the levels of blood urea nitrogen(BUN), creatinine(Crea), uric acid(UA)and β2-microglobulin(β2-MG)were measured by a semiautomatic biochemical analyzer. In addition,the histopathological changes of kidney tissues were examined,renal cell apoptosis was detected by TUNEL assay, and the expression of Bcl-2 and BAX was determined by immunohistochemical analysis. Results Compared with the normal control group,the levels of BUN in each drug administration group were significantly lower(P<0.05,P < 0.01). The levels of Crea, UA, and β2-MG in each drug administration group all showed an increasing tendency compared with the normal control group, especially, the level of β2-MG in the ZA group was significantly increased(P< 0.05). The result of TUNEL assay showed that the average optical density in each drug administration group was significantly higher than that in the normal control group(P< 0.01). In addition,the expression level of BAX in the SA group was significantly increased(P < 0.01), but expression of Bcl-2 showed no significant difference among the groups(P> 0.05). Conclusions Our findings indicate that the long-term administration of Polygonum multiflorum with a daily dose of 6 g/kg of crude drug can cause some damages to the kidneys, and the degrees of kidney injuries are ranked as alcohol extract > formulated granules > water extract. We would suggest that for patients with impaired renal fuction,Polygonum multiflorum should be used with caution, and do not used for patients with severely impaired renal function. For people long-term using Polygonum multiflorum for health care purposes, it is recommended only to use its water extract,and to control renal function,especially,β2-microglobulin,at regular intervals,to avoid irreversible kidney injury.
ABSTRACT
Objective:To preliminarily discuss the mechanism of Salvia miltiorrhiza and Rrhizoma alismatis in the prevention and treatment of lipid metabolism through regulating the imbalance of fibrinolytic system in rats with non-alcoholic fatty liver. Methods:The model of non-alcoholic fatty liver in rats was duplicated by high-fat diet feeding. Totally 60 adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into 6 groups (n=10 per group), namely the control group, the model group, Salvia miltiorrhiza group, Rrhizoma alismatis group, Salvia miltiorrhiza and Rrhizoma alismatis group,and Dongbaogantai group. The control group and the model group were given distilled water,and the other group was given Salvia miltiorrhiza,Rrhizoma alismatis,Salvia miltiorrhiza combined with Rrhizoma alismatis and Dongbaogantai,respectively. Rhizoma Alismatis decoction at high dose and low dose as well as Dongbaogantai was respectively adminis-trated in the designed groups,and the corresponding indices were detected 4 weeks later. Results:In the model control group,the con-tents of TC、TG、FFA in serum and the expression of PAI-1 were significantly elevated(P<0.05 or P<0.01),while the expression of t-PA was significantly reduced(P<0.01).After treatment,the contents of TC、TG、FFA in serum and the expression of PAI-1 in every treatment groups were reduced(P<0.01),while the expression of t-PA was elevated(P<0.01).Conclusion: Increasing the expres-sion of t-PA and reducing the expression of PAI-1 might be viewed as the mechanisms of Salvia miltiorrhiza and Rrhizoma alismatis in the prevention and treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of Modified Rhizoma Alismatis decoction on the expression of aquaporin 8 (AQP8) in liver tissue of hyperlipemia model rats, and to investigate the mechanism of preventing and treating hyperlipemia.METHODS: Total of 60 rats were randomly divided into blank control group (distilled water), model group, positive control group (simvastatin 1. 89 mg/kg) and modified Rhizoma Alismatis decoction high-dose, medium-dose and low-dose groups (29. 56, 14. 78, 7. 39 g/kg, calculated by crude drug), with 10 rats in each group. Those groups were given high-fat diet to induce hyperlipemia model and given relevant medicine intragastrically once a day for consecutive 5 weeks except that blank control group was given normal diet. After administration, the serum contents of TG, TC, HDL-C and LDL-C in rats were detected, and the pathomorphology changes of liver tissue were observed; the mRNA and protein expression of AQP8 in liver tissue were detected. RESULTS: Compared blank control group, the serum contents of TG, TC and LDL-C in model group were increased significantly (P<0. 05 or P<0. 01),while the serum content of HDL-C was decreased significantly (P<0. 01); pathological changes were found in liver tissue, such as irregular cell arrangement and hepatic sinusoidal hyperemia and edema; mRNA and protein expression of AQP8 in liver tissue were increased significantly (P<0. 01). Compared with model group, above indexes of treatment groups were improved significantly (P<0. 05 or P<0. 01); the structure of liver tissue tended to be normal and the fatty degeneration was obviously alleviated. CONCLUSIONS: Modified Rhizoma Alismatis decoction can regulate the mRNA and protein expression of AQP8 in liver tissue so as to play the effects on the prevention and treatment of hyperlipidemia.