| Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)holds that erectile dysfunction(ED)is a symptom of Kidney-Yang deficiency syndrome(KYDS),Numerous studies have underlined that medicinal plants nourishing Kidney-Yang have the potential for prevention or treatment of ED,Red ginseng is one of the renowned TCM used for antifatigue and enhance sexual function.Compound red ginseng granules(CRGG)is a compound composed of 11 medicine and food homologous substances,such as red ginseng,polygonatum sibiricum,peanut,walnut,aronia melanocarpa and lycium ruthenicum.Objective: Observing the anti-fatigue and kidney-tonifying and aphrodisiac effects of Compound red ginseng granules,and exploring its mechanisms.Methods:1.Study on anti-fatigue effect of Compound red ginseng granules on mice:Kunming mice were randomly divided into Control,Compound red ginseng granules(2,4,8 g/kg)dose group.The Control group was intragastrically(ig)given 20 m L/kg of distilled water,and the Compound red ginseng granules 2,4 and 8 g/kg groups were ig given 20 m L/kg of relevant drugs,once a day,for consecutive 30 days.On the 30 th day after the first administration,measure the exhaustive swimming time of mice;determine the contents of blood urea nitrogen(BUN)and lactic acid(LA)in serum of mice;determine the hepatic glycogen(HG)and muscle glycogen(MG)levels of mice.2.Study on kidney-tonifying and aphrodisiac effect of Compound red ginseng granules on Kidney-Yang deficiency rats: Wistar rats were randomly divided into Control,Model,Compound red ginseng granules(4,8 g/kg)dose group.The Control and Model group were ig given 10 m L/kg of distilled water,and the Compound red ginseng granules 4 and 8 g/kg groups were ig given 10 m L/kg of relevant drugs,twice a day,for consecutive 30 days.From the first day of the experiment,the erectile dysfunction model of Kidney-Yang deficiency was prepared by subcutaneous injection of hydrocortisone injection 10 mg/kg for 15 consecutive days.During the administration,the general state of rats in each group was observed every day,and the body weight and food intake of rats were recorded;On the 30 th day after the first administration,determine the organ index of reproductive organs of rats;determine the activity of superoxide dismutase(SOD)and the content of malondialdehyde(MDA)in serum;determine the serum levels of testosterone(T),follicle-stimulating hormone(FSH)and luteinizing hormone(LH);HE staining of testicular tissues;determine the activity of nitric oxide synthase(NOS),the contents of nitric oxide(NO),cyclic guanosine monophosphate(cGMP)and cyclic adenosine monophosphate(c AMP)in penile tissues;detect the expression of related proteins in NOS/NO/cGMP signaling pathway in penile tissues by Western Blot.Results:1.Study on anti-fatigue effect of Compound red ginseng granules on mice:Compared with the Control group,Compound red ginseng granules 4 and 8 g/kg significantly prolong the exhaustive swimming time of mice(P<0.01);significantly decrease serum BUN and LA contents in mice(P<0.05 or P<0.01);significantly increase HG and MG contents in mice(P<0.05 or P<0.01).2.Study on kidney-tonifying and aphrodisiac effect of Compound red ginseng granules on Kidney-Yang deficiency rats: Rats in the Control group had normal activity,weight gain,thick body hair and good mental status;Compared with the Control group,the rats in the Model group had reduced activity,slower weight gain,sparse body hair,chills and aggregation;the body weight increase of rats were significantly decreased(P<0.01);the feed conversion rate of rats were significantly increased(P<0.01);the organ index of reproductive organs were decreased,but there is no statistical significance(P>0.05);the serum SOD activity were significantly decreased,and the serum MDA content were significantly increased(P<0.01);the testicular tissues were arranged disordered,the germ cell layer number decreases,the spermatozoa and the interstitial cell number decreases;the serum T content of rats were significantly decreased(P<0.01),but there is no significant change on the LH and FSH content(P>0.05);the activity of NOS and the contents of NO and cGMP in penile tissues of rats were significantly decreased(P<0.05 or P<0.01),the c AMP content were decreased,but there is no statistical significance(P>0.05);the expression of n NOS and p-e NOS proteins in penile tissues of rats were significantly down-regulated(P<0.01),but there is no significant change on the expression of PDE5 protein(P>0.05).Compared with the Model group,the general state of rats in the Compound red ginseng granules 4 and 8 g/kg groups were significantly improved;the body weight increase of rats were significantly increased(P<0.05);the feed conversion rate of rats were significantly decreased(P<0.05 or P<0.01);the organ index of reproductive organs were increased,but there is no statistical significance(P>0.05),the penis index of rats in 8 g/kg group was significantly increased(P<0.05);the serum SOD activity were significantly increased,and the serum MDA content were significantly decreased(P<0.05 or P<0.01);the testicular tissues were arranged neatly,the germ cell layer number increased,and the spermatozoa and the interstitial cell number increased;the serum T content of rats were significantly increased,and the LH content were significantly decreased(P<0.05),but there is no significant change on FSH content(P>0.05);the activity of NOS and the contents of NO and cGMP in penile tissues of rats were significantly increased(P<0.05 or P<0.01),the c AMP content were increased,but there is no statistical significance(P>0.05);the expression of n NOS and p-e NOS proteins in penile tissues of rats were significantly up-regulated(P<0.01)and the expression of PDE5 protein were significantly down-regulated(P<0.01).Conclusion: Compound red ginseng granules have anti-fatigue and kidneytonifying and aphrodisiac effects,and the mechanisms may be related to improving the body’s antioxidant capacity,regulating the level of androgen and activating the NOS/NO/cGMP signaling pathway in the penile tissues. |
