Effects Of Panax Notoginseng Saponins On Erectile Function In Diabetic Rats With Erectile Dysfunction

Erectile dysfunction affects tens of thousands of men and has a growingtrend all over the world, it is now considered as an early sign ofcardiovascular disease. Panax notoginseng saponins is traditional chinesemedicine which has a wide range of biological activities includinganti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-apoptosis and mainly used incardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.Purpose: Detected whether pananx notoginseng saponins(PNS) couldimprove the erectile function of the diabetic rats with erectiledysfunction(ED) and the possible ways by which PNS worked.Methods: Establish the diabetic rats models with ED and randomlydivided them into four groups, The first group received PNS50mg/kg;thesecond group received PNS100mg/kg;the third group received PNS150mg/kg;the fourth group (diabetic ED group) and normal control group (normal rats, the fifth group) received physiological saline12.5ml/kg; Fourweeks later, the ratio of intracavernous pressure and mean arterial bloodpressure(ICP/MAP) were measuered. Then we got the cavernous bodies ofpenis of the experimental subjects after anaesthetic, determined theircontents of malondialdehyde(MDA)、 superoxide diamutase(SOD)andglutathione(GSH).The changes of the cavernous bodies in ultrastructureswere observed by electron microscope. Use immunohistochemistry todetermine the levels of Akt of the samples.Results: The ICP/MAP of middle and high dose group elevated, therewas no obvious changes in low dose group. In the level of SOD and GSH,there showed a trend from low to high with a sequence of diabetic EDgroup、 low、 middle、high dose group and normal control group, whilethe level of MDA and Bax showed just the opposite. Akt and Bcl-2wereprogressively increased with a sequence of five groups above. Underelectron microscope, in the low dose group, we saw ruptured blood vesselendothelium, swelling endothelial cell nucleus, impaired cavernous smoothmuscle cells and vessel full of platelets and red blood cells; in the ED groupwithout any treatment, there were impaired ruptured cavernous endotheliumand thrombosis in the lumen； in the middle、high dose group and normalcontrol group, there were no abnormal changes.Conclusions: The results suggest that PNS improve erectile function indiabetic rats, which was associated with increased Akt expression, suppressed oxidative stress and restored functions of endothelial cells andsmooth muscle cells in penis.