ABSTRACT
Objective: To observe the effects of Yanggan Lidan Granule (YGLDG), a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine, on insulin resistance in guinea pigs with induced cholesterol gallstones. Methods: Eighty guinea pigs were randomly divided into normal control group, untreated group, YGLDG group and ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) group, with 20 guinea pigs in each group. Except the normal control group, gallstones were induced by high-cholesterol diet in the guinea pigs. The guinea pigs in the normal control group and the untreated group were administered with normal saline. UDCA and YGLDG were given to the guinea pigs in the corresponding groups for seven weeks. Eight guinea pigs of each group were used to measure the glucose infusion rate (GIR) by using hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp technique. At the end the guinea pigs were killed and their gallstone formation was observed. Results: The gallstones in guinea pigs were identified as cholesterol stones by qualitative analysis through infrared spectrum. The incidence rate of cholelithiasis of the untreated group was 82.35% . The GIR of guinea pigs in the untreated group was obviously lowered down as compared with the normal control group. Compared with the untreated group, the GIRs of the YGLDG group and the UDCA group were obviously increased, especially in the YGLDG group. Conclusion: YGLDG may improve insulin resistance in guinea pigs with cholesterol gallstones by elevating GIR obviously.