Objective

2

To observe the difference in drying dampness between Scutellariae Radix and Atractylodis Rhizoma in model rats with spleen-stomach dampness-heat syndrome and clarify their property-efficacy relationship.

Method

2

Sixty-four healthy male SD rats were randomized into the blank group， model group， high-， medium-， and low-dose Scutellariae Radix groups， as well as high-， medium-， and low-dose Atractylodis Rhizoma groups. The rats were exposed to high-fat and high-sugar diet and external dampness-heat environment for 20 days for inducing the spleen-stomach dampness-heat syndrome. The macroscopic manifestations of rats were observed and the morphological changes in stomach and colon were detected under a light microscope after hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining， followed by the calculation of pathological scores. The serum tumor necrosis factor-

α

（TNF-

α

）， interleukin-4 （IL-4）， and interferon-

γ

（IFN-

γ

） levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. The protein and mRNA expression levels of aquaporin-4 （AQP4） in the gastric tissue were measured by Western blot and Real-time polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）， respectively.

Result

2

Rats in the model group presented with the manifestations of dampness-heat syndrome. The inflammatory reaction in stomach and colon was obvious， and the pathological score was significantly increased （

P

<

0.01）. The serum IFN-

γ

， IL-4， and TNF-

α

levels were elevated （

P

<

0.05）， and so were the AQP4 protein and mRNA expression levels in the gastric tissue except that there was no statistical difference. The clinical symptoms of rats in the medication groups were alleviated. Scutellariae Radix significantly relieved the gastric and colonic inflammation in model rats. Atractylodis Rhizoma inhibited the colonic inflammation in model rats to a certain extent， but it had no obvious effect on gastric inflammation. The pathological score of each Scutellariae Radix group was decreased. In terms of the pathological score of gastric tissue， only the high-dose Scutellariae Radix produced a significant difference （

P

<

0.01）， and the pathological scores of the three Atractylodis Rhizoma groups were not significantly different from that in the model group. As for the pathological score of colonic tissue， all the medication groups except for the low-dose Atractylodis Rhizoma group exhibited a significant difference in comparison with that of the model group （

P

<

0.01）. Scutellariae Radix and Atractylodis Rhizoma at each dose reduced not only the serum IFN-

γ

， IL-4， and TNF-

α

levels （

P

<

0.05，

P

<

0.01）， but also the AQP4 protein expression in gastric tissue of model rats （

P

<

0.01）. The AQP4 mRNA expression in the gastric tissue of model rats declined in the high- and low-dose Scutellariae Radix groups， while that in the medium-dose Scutellariae Radix group and each Atractylodis Rhizoma group rose without statistical difference.

Conclusion

2

Scutellariae Radix and Atractylodis Rhizoma display a certain property-efficacy relationship in drying dampness of rats with spleen-stomach dampness-heat syndrome. Specifically， the efficacy of drying dampness is related to their cold/heat property， and the resulting outcome of bitter-cold Scutellariae Radix is better than that of bitter-warm Atractylodis Rhizoma.