Objective: To investigate the therapeutic effect of polysaccharide from Plantaginis Semen on the membranous nephropathy in rats. Method: Totally 40 Sprague-Dawley (SD) male rats were randomly divided into normal group

model group

polysaccharide from Plantaginis Semen group (800 mg·kg-1)

and Tripterygium glycosides group (10 mg·kg-1). All the other groups except normal group received cation bovine serum albumin (C-BSA) to establish membranous nephropathy models. Before experiment

as well as at the end of week 3

week 5 and week 7 after experiment

24 h urinary protein was detected. At the end of experiment

the serum was analyzed for blood urea nitrogen(BUN)

serum creatinine(SCr)

tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) and interleukin-1β(IL-1β) levels; kidney weight index was studied and renal pathological changes were observed by HE staining. Result: As compared with the normal group

the levels of urinary protein

BUN

SCr

TNF-α and IL-1β levels in serum and kidney weight index were significantly increased in model group (P<0.05

P<0.01). As compared with the model group

the polysaccharide from Plantaginis Semen was found to reduce BUN

SCr

TNF-α and IL-1β levels in serum and urinary protein (P<0.05

P<0.01)

but there was no significant difference in the index of kidney weight. The optical microscopy results showed that polysaccharide from Plantaginis Semen could significantly improve renal pathological changes. Conclusion: The polysaccharide from Plantaginis Semen has certain therapeutic effect for rats with membranous nephropathy.