ABSTRACT
Objective To observe effects of four extracts (water, n-butanol, acetoacetate and petro-leum benzine extracts) from Hippocampus japonicus on kidney-yang deficiency mice induced by extradiol, and reveal the modern scientific connotation about sweet-flavor, warm-nature, meridian tropism in liver and kidney. Methods Kidney-yang deficiency mice was induced by intraperitoneal injection of estradiol benzoate. Effects of four extracts from H. japonicus were observed by measuring physical signs, rectal temperature, grip strength, swimming time, autonomic mobility, creatinine (Cr) and urea (UR) level in serum, haematological indexes, testis index and seminal vesicle index. Results All the four extracts from H. japonicus could markedly improve physical signs and increase seminal vesicle index, RBC, Hb and PLT in blood, and decrease UR level in serum of kidney-yang deficiency mice, water extract and petoleum benzine extract could increase rectal temperature, grip strength, swimming time, autonomic mobility, testis index, WBC, lymphocyte (LY), monocyte (MO), and neutrophilic granulocyte (NE), n-butanol extract could increase autonomic mobility and NE, acetoacetate extract could enhance grip strength and prolong swimming time. Conclusion All above effects of extracts from H. japonicus could be as the basic of improving kidney-yang deficiency, could be an important part of the modern scientific connotation about sweet-flavor, warm-nature, meridian tropism in liver and kidney. Effects of water extract and petroleum ether extract were closer and stronger, which offer enlightenment for searching the common effective substance groups of H. japoniacs.