ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the protective effects of Coptis chinensis decoction on the metabolic index and renal function of rats with fructose-induced metabolism syndrome (MS).Methods From 56 male Wistar rats,6 were randomly selected as normal control group,the other rats were daily fed with 10％ fructose water for 8 weeks to reproduce the MS model.Twenty-four rats were established successfully as MS model and randomly divided into 4 groups (6 each):model group,Coptis decoction group,tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) group and berberine hydrochloride (BH) group.The body weight,visceral fat weight,fasting blood glucose (FBG),fasting insulin (FINS),insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR),cholesterol (TC),triglyceride (TG),systolic blood pressure (SBP),diastolic blood pressure (DBP),urinary N-acetyl-β-D-glucosidase (NAG),urine microalbumin (m-ALB),blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (Scr) levels were compared between the groups,and the renal pathological changes were observed by light microscopy and electron microscopy.Results The levels of body weight,visceral fat weight,FINS,HOMA-IR,TC,TG,SBP,DBP and urinary NAG were obviously higher in the four MS model groups than in normal control group (P＜0.05),while the levels of m-ALB,BUN and Scr showed no significant difference (P＞0.05).After the intervention,the levels of body weight,visceral fat weight,FINS,HOMA-IR,TC,TG,SBP and DBP decreased significantly in Coptis decoction group than in model group (P＜0.05).Compared with BH group and TUDCA group,the levels of FINS and HOMA-IR decreased obviously in Coptis decoction group (P＜0.05),while the levels of body weight,TC,TG,SBP,DBP,urinary NAG,BUN and Scr showed no significant difference (P＞0.05).It was observed in model group by light microscopy and electron microscopy that the glomerular swelled obviously,the capillary basement membrane of glomerular and renal tubules thickened,mesangial region and interstitial substances hyperplasia,podocytes swelled markedly and most of fusion,the epithelial cells of renal tubules serious vacuolar degeneration,and a lot of secondary lysosomes formed,autophagy of organelles occurred,and most of endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria disappeared.The kidney pathological damage reduced obviously after treatment of Coptis decoction,but no significant difference when compared with that in BH group and TUDCA group.Conclusions Coptis decoction may decrease the body weight,reduce the levels of blood lipid and blood pressure,and better improve the insulin resistance when compared with BH and TUDCA.In addition,Coptis decoction can also reduce the renal pathological damage,and has the protective function for kidney.