Effects of Hekun Decoction on vagina and uterus morphology and liver and kidney functions in ovariectomized rats
Objective:To investigate the effects of traditional Chinese medicine compound formula Hekun Decoction on the vaginal and uterine morphology of ovariectomized rats,and observe its liver and kidney toxicity.Methods:Forty female SD rats were randomly divided into four groups:control group,model group,estradiol(E2)group,and Hekun Decoction group,10 rats in each group.Except for the control group,the perimenopausal model was constructed by gonadectomy in other rats.On the 10th day after surgery,the rats in the control and model groups were given 0.9％NaCl solution by gavage every day,the rats in the E2 group were given 0.15 mg/kg E2 solution by gavage every day,and the rats in the Hekun Decoction group were given 19.95 g/kg Hekun Decoction granule solution by gavage every day,with a course of 3 consecutive months.The rats were executed at the end of the intervention,and the vagina,uterus,liver,and kidneys were removed and the organ indices were calculated.Hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining was used to observe the morphological changes of vagina,uterus,liver and kidney of rats in each group,and the thickness of the vaginal epithelium,the number of the vaginal epithelial layers,the number of blood vessels in the lamina propria of vagina,and the thickness of the uterine epithelium,the thickness of the endometria,the epithelium height of the endometria gland and the number of endometria glands were measured.The expressions of vaginal estrogen receptor α(ERα)and estrogen receptor β(ERβ)in rats were detected by immunohistochemical methods.The indicators of liver and kidney functions of rats,including alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate aminotransferase(AST),superoxide dismutase(SOD),serum creatinine(Scr)and blood urea nitrogen(BUN),were detected by fully automatic biochemical analyzer.The serum E2 level of rats was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Results:Compared with the model group,the vaginal index of rats in the E2 and Hekun Decoction groups was significantly increased(P＜0.01),and the thickness of the vaginal epithelium,the number of the vaginal epithelial layers,and the number of blood vessels in the lamina propria of vagina were significantly increased(P＜0.01).Compared with the model group,the uterine index of rats in the E2 group was significantly increased(P＜0.01),and the thickness of the uterine epithelium,the thickness of the endometria,the number of endometria glands and the epithelium height of the endometria gland were significantly increased(P＜0.01,P＜0.05);the uterine index of rats in the Hekun Decoction group was significantly increased(P＜0.05),and the thickness of the endometria and the epithelium height of the endometria gland were significantly increased(P＜0.01).Compared with the model group,the serum E2 level and the vaginal ERα and ERβ expression levels of rats in the E2 and Hekun Decoction groups were significantly increased(P＜0.01,P＜0.05).Compared with the control group,there were no obvious pathological damages in the liver and kidney of rats of the model,E2 and Hekun Decoction groups,and there were no statistically significant differences on the levels of liver and kidney function indexes of rats in all groups(P＞0.05).Conclusion:Hekun Decoction can enhance the serum E2 level of ovariectomized rats,increase the expressions of vaginal estrogen receptors,improve vaginal atrophy,and its action is mild,with less stimulation to the uterus and no toxic effect on the liver and kidney functions.
Hekun Decoctionperimenopausevaginal atrophyestradiolliver and kidney toxicityovariectomized rat
万方数据
维普
