Effects of Danggui Shaoyao Powder on oxytocin-induced in vivo uterine contractions and vasomotor factors of rats / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective: To explore the effects of Danggui Shaoyao Powder (DSP) on in vivo uterine contractions and vasomotor factors of rats, and to investigate the mechanism of DSP for healing primary dysmenorrhea. Methods: Female SD rats were randomly divided into model, Verapamil (100 μg/kg, positive control), low-, mid-, and high-dose DSP (4, 8, and 16 g/kg) groups, and the rats were administered once daily for 7 d. The rats were sc administered with diethylstilbestrol (4 mg/kg) on day 7, on the next day the in vivo uterine contraction of rats was observed before and after oxytocin treatment under anesthesia condition, and the levels of nitric oxide (NO) and endothelin (ET) in uterine homogenate were determined. Results: DSP increased the average muscle tension of uterine contraction of normal rats obverously, but inhibited the oxytocin-induced uterine contraction significantly. The changes of the uterine contraction frequency, amplitude, average muscle tension, and uterine vigour of rats before and after oxytocin processing were significantly inhibited. DSP increased the NO level in the uterine of the experimental animals after oxytocin treatment and reduced the level of ET. The NO/ET ratio increased significantly. Conclusion: DSP could inhibit the in vivo uterine contraction, regulate the vasomotor substances, and improve the uterine blood supplement, resulting in the beneficial effect on treating primary dysmenorrhea.