Danzhi Jiangtang capsule reduces renal injury in rats with diabetes induced by high fat diet and streptozotocin downregulating toll-like receptor 4-nuclear factor-κB pathway and apoptosis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect and mechanisms of Danzhi Jiangtang capsule (, DJC) on renal injury in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes of rats. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were fed with high fat diet for 6 weeks followed by streptozotocin (STZ, 35 mg/kg) injection. These rats were then treated with DJC (270, 540 and 1080 mg/kg) daily for 8 weeks. RESULTS: A combination of high fat diet and STZ significantly increased blood glucose creatinine, urea nitrogen, and urine albumin in rats. Meanwhile, the glomerular and tubular lesions were observed in rats fed with high fat diet and injected with STZ. These biochemical and pathological changes were significantly attenuated by DJC treatments in a dose-dependent manner. Mechanistically, DJC treatments significantly decreased toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signals in the kidney of rats fed with high fat diet and injected with STZ. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling staining and caspase-8 levels showed that renal apoptosis was increased in rats fed with high fat diet and injected with STZ, and this was attenuated by DJC treatments. CONCLUSIONS: DJC treatments protect against diabetic kidney disease, and the mechanism may be closely related to downregulation of TLR4/MAPK/NF-κB pathways and apoptosis. This study provides further evidence of using DJC as a potential therapeutic option for diabetic kidney disease.

Clinical Efficacy of Danzhi Jiangtang Capsules on Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Complicated with Lower-extremity Macroangiopathy and Serum Levels of Hcy and Cys C / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo observe the clinical efficacy of Danzhi Jiangtang capsules with the functions of replenishing Qi， nourishing Yin， and dredging collaterals on patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus （T2DM） combined with lower-extremity macroangiopathy and serum levels of homocysteine （Hcy） and cystatin C （Cys C）. MethodA total of 80 eligible patients who were treated in the department of endocrinology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine from May 2017 to December 2019 were randomized into the treatment group （40 cases） and control group （40 cases）. Both groups received the basic therapies for diabetes and Danzhi Jiangtang capsules （oral） was added to the treatment group. The levels of glycosylated hemoglobin A1c （HbA1c）， fasting plasma glucose （FPG）， 2-hour postprandial glucose （2 hPG）， fasting C-peptide （C-P）， and 2-hour postprandial C-peptide （2 hC-P）， triglycerides （TG）， total cholesterol （TC）， high density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C）， and low density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C） and serum levels of Hcy and Cys C were measured and the traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） syndrome scores were calculated before and after treatment in the two groups. ResultAfter 12 weeks of treatment， levels of HbA1c， FPG， and 2 hPG were lower than those before treatment in the two groups （P<0.05）. Levels of C-P （P<0.05） and 2 hC-P were higher than those before treatment in the two groups. After treatment， levels of HbA1c， FPG， and 2 hPG in the treatment group were lower than those in the control group （P<0.05）， while levels of C-P and 2 hC-P showed no significant difference between two groups. After treatment， the levels of TG， TC， and LDL-C were lower than those before treatment （P<0.05） and HDL-C level was higher than that before treatment （P<0.05） in both groups. After treatment， levels of TG and LDL-C in the treatment group were lower than those in the control group （P<0.05）， and levels of TC and HDL-C demonstrated no significant difference between two groups. After the treatment， the TCM syndrome score was lower than that before the treatment in both groups （P<0.05） and lower in the treatment group than in the control group （P<0.05）. The overall effective rate of the treatment group was higher than that of the control group （χ２=7.585， P<0.05）. The levels of Cys C and Hcy were lower than those before treatment in the two groups （P<0.05） and lower in the treatment group than in the control group （P<0.05）. Doppler echocardiography of the lower limbs showed no obvious improvement in the control group after treatment. However， for the treatment group， slight decrease in intima-media thickness of the lower limb arteries and a slight reduction in the plaque area were observed， but the difference was not statistically significant. ConclusionDanzhi Jiangtang capsules has definite therapeutic effect on T2DM combined with lower-extremity macroangiopathy， which can improve glucolipid metabolism and reduce serum levels of Hcy and Cys C. This study can serve a reference for the prevention and treatment of T2DM combined with macroangiopathy.

Clinical study of Qigui Tangtongning Granules combined with conventional western medicine in treating diabetic peripheral neuropathy syndrome of Qi deficiency and blood stasis / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy of Qigui Tangtongning Granules in the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) with qi deficiency and blood stasis.Methods:Prospective cohort study. A total of 80 DPN patients with Qi deficiency and blood stasis in Endocrinology Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine from May 2021 to May 2022 who met the inclusion criteria were divided into 2 groups by random number table method, with 40 cases in each group. The control group was treated with epalrestat on the basis of routine hypoglycemia, and the treatment group was treated with Qigui Tangtongning Granules on the basis of control group. Both groups were treated for 8 weeks. TCM syndromes were scored before and after treatment. Disease severity was assessed using the Toronto Clinical Scoring System (TCSS). The motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV) and sensory nerve conduction velocity (SNCV) of median nerve and common peroneal nerve were detected by electromyography/induced potentiometer. Serum CRP, TNF-α and IL-6 were detected by ELISA, fasting blood glucose (FPG) and two hours post-meal blood glucose (2 hPG) were detected by automatic biochemical analyzer, and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was detected by automatic HBA1C analyzer. Adverse reactions were recorded and clinical efficacy was evaluated.Results:The total effective rate was 95.0% (38/40) in the treatment group and 77.5% (31/40) in the control group, the difference between the two groups was statistically significant ( χ2=5.17, P=0.023). After treatment, the TCM syndrome score and TCSS score of the treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group ( t=-3.19 and -7.63, P<0.01); Median nerve SNCV [(47.90±4.51) m/s vs. (44.76±3.72) m/s, t=3.40], MNCV [(53.79±3.65) m/s vs. (51.32±4.25) m/s, t=2.79] and common peroneal nerve SNCV [(44.21±2.08) m/s vs. (40.51±2.49) m/s, t=7.23], MNCV [(44.63±4.72) m/s vs. (41.36±4.87) m/s, t=3.05] were significantly higher than those in the control group ( P<0.01); FPG [(5.05±0.63) mmol/L vs. (7.05±1.23) mmol/L, t=-9.17], 2 hPG [(9.10±1.64) mmol/L vs. (12.19±2.61) mmol/L, t=-6.35], HbA1c [(6.79±0.90) % vs. (7.22±1.02) %, t=-2.02] were significantly lower than those in the control group ( P<0.01 or P<0.05); TNF-α [(15.75±5.44) ng/L vs. (32.01±5.33) ng/L, t=-13.51], hs-CRP [(2.58±0.80) mg/L vs. (3.79±1.04) mg/L, t=-5.83], IL-6 [(18.20±4.92) ng/L vs. (29.97±5.18) ng/L, t=-10.41] were significantly lower than those in the control group ( P<0.01). No obvious adverse reactions were observed in 2 groups during treatment. Conclusion:Qigui Tangtongning Granules combined with conventional Western medicine can improve nerve conduction velocity, reduce inflammation and improve clinical efficacy in DPN patients with Qi-deficiency and blood-stasis syndrome.