Abstract
We investigated the effects of Hachimijiogan (Ba-Wei-Di-Huang-Wan) (HJ) on polyol pathway and blood coagulation in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. After STZ was administered, rats had free access to pellets containing 1% HJ extract powder for four weeks. There were significant increases in red blood sorbitol levels in STZ-treated rats, but they did not decrease by HJ administration. HJ suppressed the increasing of renal aldose reductase activity in STZ-induced diabetic rats at four weeks after the start of administration. Next, in order to investigate the effects of HJ on blood coagulation, normal prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time were measured. Normal prothrombin time was decreased by STZ but there was no significant change by HJ. Activated partial thromboplastin time did not change in STZ and STZ+HJ rats significantly. In conclusion, HJ normalizes aldose reductase activity in the kidneys of the STZ diabetic rats, suggesting that HJ administration may be a therapeutic approach to improving diabetic nephropathy.
