Analysis of major herbs in Chinese herbal formula Jianpi Huoxue Decoction for improving intestinal permeability based on uniform design

Abstract

To investigate the herbal medicines which play a main role in Chinese herbal formula Jianpi Huoxue Decoction for improving intestinal permeability and protect alcohol-induced liver injury and intestine damage, and to explore the analysis method for the material base of pharmacological effects of the Chinese herbal compound. Sprague Dawley rats were given Lieber-DeCarli ethanol liquid diet once daily for 6 weeks to induce alcoholic liver injury. In step one, U(17)(17(16)) table of uniform design was adopted to design the experiment and the eight herbs of Jianpi Huoxue Decoction were screened to seek the herbs which play the main role. Three and a half hours before the rats were killed, each rat was administered lipopolysaccharide once, then blood sample was collected from portal vein and endotoxin content in plasma was detected as the index of intestinal permeability. The data were analyzed by stepwise regression to find the herbal drugs which had the best effects and the compatibility ratio of these drugs. In step two, the rats with Lieber-DeCarli liquid diet-induced liver injury were divided into four groups to test and verify the results. According to the obtained regression equation, Rasux Paeonia Alba (Baishao), Rhizoma Alismatis (Zexie) and Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis (Wuweizi) were the main herbal drugs in Jianpi Huoxue Decoction in improving intestinal permeability, and the doses for rats were 1.33, 0.50 and 0.17 g/kg respectively. In the verification experiment, combination of Baishao, Zexie and Wuweizi significantly decreased the endotoxin level in plasma of rats with Lieber-DeCarli-induced liver injury and showed reliability. Baishao, Zexie and Wuweizi are the major herbs of Jianpi Huoxue Decoction for improving intestinal permeability. Uniform design is efficient in screening the major herbs or their optimal combination in a certain Chinese compound.