RESUMEN
Objective:To observe the effect of Wuzi Yanzong Wan made of different processed products on the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells in rats with kidney essence deficiency， and explore its protective effect on spermatogenic cells. Method:SD rats were randomly divided into the blank group， model group， whole raw product group， pharmacopoeia group and salt-processed product group， with 8 rats in each group. The kidney essence deficiency model was replicated by giving tripterygium glycoside tablets （the dose of 20 mg·kg<sup>-1</sup>）. The flow cytometry （FCM） was used to analysis the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells in testis， the immunohistochemistry （IHC） and Western blot were used to detect the expression levels of B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2） and Bcl-2 associated X protein （Bax） in the testis. High performance liquid chromatography （HPLC） was used to compare the contents of eight components （chlorogenic acid， ellagic acid， hyperoside， isoquercitrin， verbascoside， astragalin， kaempferol and schisandrin） in Wuzi Yanzong Wan made of different processed products， the mobile phase was composed of acetonitrile （A）-0.4% phosphoric acid aqueous solution （B） for gradient elution （0-5 min， 5%-15%A； 5-10 min， 15%-17%A； 10-25 min， 17%A； 25-35 min， 17%-26%A； 35-60 min， 26%-56%A）， the detection wavelength was set at 254 nm. Result:Compared with the model group， the total apoptosis rate of spermatogenic cells， protein expression of Bax and Bcl-2 in each administration group were improved. Among them， the pharmacopoeia group and salt-processed product group had significant effects （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， and the improvement effect of the pharmacopoeia group and salt-processed product group was significantly better than that of the whole raw product group （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. The contents of chlorogenic acid， hyperoside， isoquercitrin and verbascoside in Wuzi Yanzong Wan were increased after the herbal medicines being processed with salt-water. The content of ellagic acid in the salt-processed product group increased， while it decreased in the pharmacopoeia group. The contents of verbascoside， astragalin， kaempferol and schisandrin in samples from the salt-processed product group were greater than those in samples from the pharmacopoeia group. Conclusion:Wuzi Yanzong Wan may reduce the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells in rat testis by inhibiting the expression of Bax and promoting the expression of Bcl-2， and exert its effect of nourishing kidney and enriching essence. The enhanced anti-spermatogenic effect of Wuzi Yanzong Wan after processing may be related to the changes in chemical composition content after processing.