ABSTRACT
Objective To study the effects of ShenhongTongluo Granules on blood lipids, inflammatory related factors and oxidative stress-related indexes in rabbit atherosclerosis model, and to explore the mechanism of Shenhongtongluo Granules on atherosclerosis. Methods 70 healthy male New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into blank control group, model group, aspirin combined with simvastatin group, aspirin group, simvastatin group, Shenhongtongluo Granule prevention group, and Shenhongtongluo Granule treatment group. The rabbit atherosclerosis model was established by lipidforage diet combined with immune stimulation, and the blank group was fed with commonforage. The Shenhongtongluo Granule prevention group was given Shenhongtongluo Granule at the beginning of modeling, and the other intervention groups were given the corresponding drugs after the successful modeling. Before and after modeling, lipid changes were checked in each group, including total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), superoxide dismutase activity (SOD) and malondialde-hyde (MDA) in the serum. The aorta of the model group was separated and oil red O staining was performed to observe the pathological and morphological changes of the aorta. Western blotting and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were used to detect the expression of Nox4 and p22phox. Western blotting was used to detect the expression of TLR4 and NF-κB protein in aorta. Results Twelve weeks after modeling, atheromatous plaques were obviously observed on the aorta stained with oil red O, indicating successful atherosclerosis modeling. Compared with the blank control group, TC, TG, and LDL-C in the serum of the atherosclerosis model group were significantly increased (all P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the atherosclerotic plaques in the Shenhongtongluo Granule prevention and the treatment groups were significantly reduced , the levels of TC , TG , LDL-C in serum were decreased, and the levels of SOD were increased, and MDA levels were reduced (all P<0.05). The expressions of TLR4, NF-κB, Nox4, and p22phox in the aorta of Shenhongtongluo Granule prevention group were significantly reduced (all P<0.05). Conclusions Shenhongtongluo Granules can inhibit the formation of atheromatous plaques, have a good effect on regulating blood lipids, and can improve the ability of anti-oxidative stress, and have a good preventive and therapeutic effect.