Study On The Effects Of Four Plant Extracts On Erectile Function Of Rats

In recent years,the incidence of erectile dysfunction has increased rapidly globally,and has continued to show a trend of rejuvenation.With the continuous in-depth study of clinical trials,it is found that western medicines have certain limitations and cannot effectively achieve long-term treatment effects.So the interesting by researchers in phytogenic drugs has gradually increased.Previous studies have shown that Cistanche deserticola Ma,Cynomorium songaricum Rupr,Epimedium brevicornu Maxim and Lycium barbarum all have strong kidney tonic and Yang tonifying effects,but whether they have superposition and complementary effects remains to be reported.In this study,the ethanol extraction method was used to extract the four plants of Cistanche deserticola Ma,Cynomorium songaricum Rupr,Epimedium brevicornu Maxim and Lycium barbarum,and the plant extract was obtained by evaporation and concentration;intracavernous pressure(ICP value)was used as an indicator to evaluate the effect of four plant extracts on the erectile function in rats and to determine the optimal concentration and proportion of the four plant extract solutions;the capture times,the capture latency,the climbing times,the climbing latency of the mating behavior for rats were observed with 15 minutes by using the intragastric administration method after each of plant extract and their optimized mixture ratio was given to the rat;the levels of testosterone and cyclic guanosine monophosphate in serum and of nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthase in cavernous tissues were detected by using ELISA method.Eventually we determined the superposition and complementary effects of four plant extracts on erectile function of rats and provided a certain reference for researchers to develop new drugs for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.The main findings were as follows1)By using ethanol extraction method to obtain plant extracts through a series of rotary evaporation concentration,the Cynomorium songaricum Rupr had the highest extracting rate for 25.76%,the Epimedium brevicornu Maxim had the lowest extracting rate for 18.35%,the extraction rate of the Cistanche deserticola Ma was 23.55%and the extraction rate of the Lycium barbarum was 21.63%2)On the basis of single factor experiment,response surface optimization experiment with four factors and three levels is designed.By using the response software Design Expert to analyze the experimental results,the optimal concentrations of the four plant extract solutions is that the extract solution concentrations of the Cistanche deserticola Ma,Epimedium brevicornu Maxim,Cynomorium songaricum Rupr and Lycium barbarum were 0.49 mg/ml,0.65 mg/ml,1.19 mg/ml and 1.59 mg/ml,respectively.The ICP value for rat was 109.63 mmHg under this conditions.The regression model had a good fitting effect with the experimental results and could significantly reflected the effect of four plant extracts on the ICP value for rats.So this method could be used in the solution of four plant extracts in this study and the optimized concentration ratio had certain practical value.3)Observing the mating behavior of the rat after administrated extract of each plant and their optimized mixture ratio,the capture times and the climbing times of the male rat in the Epimedium brevicornu Maxim group and in the optimized group were significantly higher than those in the control group,had no significant difference in the Cistanche deserticola Ma group,the Cynomorium songaricum Rupr group and the Lycium barbarum group by comparing with the control group.The capture latency and the climbing latency of male rats in the Cistanche deserticola Ma group,the Epimedium brevicornu Maxim group,the Cynomorium songaricum Rupr group,and the optimization group were significantly lower than those in the control group,and the lowest in optimization group.The capture latency and the climbing latency of male rats in the Lycium barbarum group had no significant difference by comparing with the control group.4)Measuring the level of testosterone and cyclic guanosine monophosphate in rat serum after administrated each of plant extract and their optimized mixture ratio,they had no significant difference between the Lycium barbarum group and the control group,but were more higher in the Cistanche deserticola Ma group,the Epimedium brevicornu Maxim group,the Cynomorium songaricum Rupr group and the optimized group than that in the control group.5)After the rat administrated each of plant extract and their optimized mixture ratio,the levels of nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthase in cavernous tissue in the Cistanche deserticola Ma group,the Epimedium brevicornu Maxim group,the Cynomorium songaricum Rupr group and the optimized group significantly increased by compard those in the control group,and had not significantly different between in the Lycium barbarum group and the control group.The above research results showed that the four plant extracts of Cistanche deserticola Ma,Cynomorium songaricum Rupr,Epimedium brevicornu Maxim,Lycium barbarum and the best optimized ratio all had a promoting effect on erectile function of rats,but the best optimized ratio had no obvious superposition or complementary effect on enhancing erectile function;the promoting effect of the four plant extracts and the best optimized ratio on erectile function of rats may play a role through the NO-cGMP signal pathway.