Effects of Xuebijing injection on intestinal mucosal morphology in rats with sepsis

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Objective To observe the effect of injecting Xuebijing via different routes, as either treatment or pretreatment, on changes in intestinal mucosal morphology in a rat model of sepsis. Method Ninety-one healthy Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups: 1) control group ( n = 7) , 2) sepsis group ( n = 21) , 3) intragastric pretreatment group ( n = 21) , 4) intravenous pretreatment group (n = 21) , and 5) intravenous treatment group (n = 21) . Except for the control group, the other groups were further divided into three sub-groups for assessment at 3, 6 and 12 h post-operation ( n = 7 per group) . Sepsis was induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) . For the intragastric pretreatment group, Xuebijing injection (5 mL/kg) was administered via intragastric injection 2 hours before CLP. For the intravenous pretreatment group, Xuebijing injection (5 mL/kg)was administered via the caudal vein 2 hours before CLP. For the intravenous treatment group, Xuebijing injection (5 mL/kg) was intravenously infused 2 hours after CLP. The control group received no treatment. The ileum was removed from all rats for measurement. The rats were sacrificed at 3, 6 or 12 h after operation to obtain the ileum.Intestinal mucosal damage index and morphological changes in the intestinal mucosa were detected by light microscopy and electron microscopy. Analysis of variance was used to compare the groups. P -values < 0.05 were considered to indicate statistically significant differences. Results Intestinal mucosal damage was significantly reduced in and the three treatment groups compared with the untreated sepsis group (3h, F =53.35; 6h, F =74.93; 12 h, F - 171.27; P =0.000). Intestinal damage was significantly reduced in the intravenous pretreatment group compared with the intragastric pretreatment group (3 h, F = 53.35,P =0.036; 6 h, F = 74.93,P =0.039; 12 h, F = 171.27, P =0.042). Conclusions Irrespective of the route, the administration of Xuebijing protected against intestinal mucosal damage and intravenous pretreatment exerted the most effective protection against intestinal mucosal damage in this rat model of sepsis. Key words: Xuebijing injection; Sepsis; Intestinal mucosa