Huang Qi (root of Astragalus membranaceus) and
Dang Gui ( Angelica sinensis), two of the most widely used herbs in
traditional Chinese medicine, have been proven to be effective in the treatment of
diabetes mellitus (DM) although the underlying molecular mechanisms are not fully elucidated. This study was designed to investigate the protective effect of
Dang Gui and
Huang Qi mixture (GQM) on the development of
diabetic nephropathy in rats with
streptozotocin (STZ)-induced DM and the possible underlying molecular mechanism. The diabetic animal model was made by a single
intraperitoneal injection of STZ and then treated with GQM or
benazepril.
Blood glucose,
triglyceride (TG),
cholesterol (CHO),
high density lipoprotein (HDL), serum
creatinine (Scr),
creatinine clearance rate (Ccr), blood
urea nitrogen (BUN), urine beta (2)-microglobin (beta (2)-MG), kidney/
body weight (K/B) ratio, glomerular area (GA), renal
transforming growth factor-beta (1) (TGF-beta (1))
mRNA expression and blood and renal
angiotensin II (AngII) expression were determined 8 weeks after the treatment. The
blood glucose, CHO and TG levels, BUN, SCr, Ccr. K/B ratio, GA, the excretion of beta (2)-MG, renal
TGF-beta (1)
mRNA expression and blood and renal AngII expression were significantly increased while the HDL level was decreased 8 week after STZ injection. The changes in
blood glucose, TG, CHO and HDL were reversed by GQM, not by
benazepril, whereas the changes in other variables were reversed by both GQM and
benazepril. Our results suggest that GQM alleviates the disorder in
blood glucose and
lipids, protects against the progression of renal nephropathy in diabetic rats, probably by inhibiting the expression of AngII and
TGF-beta (1)
mRNA.