Effect of Tongxie Yaofang and Xiaoyaosan on the Expression of BDNF in the Colon and the Levels of Serum BDNF and CORT in Rats with Diarrhea-induced Rrritable Bowel Syndrome

LIN Mei; CHEN Hong; HUANG Hengqing; LIN Jianlong; WU Huasong; LI Shiqi; CHEN Sainan

doi:10.16458/j.cnki.1007-0893.2025.09.001

Abstract：Objective To observe the serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF)and cortisol(CORT)in diarrhea predominant irritable bowel syndrome(IBS-D)rats before and after treatment,as well as the expression of BDNF in colon immunohistochemistry,in order to explore the mechanism of Tongxie Yaofang combined with Xiaoyaosan in the treatment of liver depression and spleen deficiency IBS-D.Methods Forty Wistar rats were randomly divided into a normal group,a model group,a traditional Chinese medicine group,and a western medicine group,with 10 rats in each group.The model was established by gavage of senna leaves and chronic restraint method.After modeling,Rats in the traditional Chinese medicine group was treated with Tongxie Yaofang and Xiaoyaosan decoction,while the western medicine group was treated with povidone bromide and fluoxetine for 2 weeks each.Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)was used to detect serum BDNF and CORT concentrations,and immunohistochemistry was used to detect BDNF expression in colon tissue.Results After completing the modeling,the body weight of the model group rats was significantly lower than that of the normal group,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).Compared with the normal group,the body size of the model group rats was significantly smaller,the frequency of diarrhea was significantly increased,and their mental state was poorer;Compared with the normal group,the serum BDNF content in the model group rats significantly decreased and the serum CORT content significantly increased.At the same time,compared with the model group,the serum BDNF content in the traditional Chinese medicine group rats significantly increased and the serum CORT content significantly decreased.The serum BDNF content in the western medicine group rats significantly increased and the serum CORT content significantly decreased,and the differences were statistically significant(P<0.05);The immunohistochemical detection results showed that the positive expression of BDNF in the colon tissue of the model group rats was significantly increased compared to the normal group,while the positive expression of BDNF in the colon tissue of the traditional Chinese medicine group rats was significantly reduced compared to the model group and the western medicine group.Conclusion The combination of Tongxie Yaofang and Xiaoyaosan can reduce visceral hypersensitivity and intestinal motility hyperactivity in IBS-D rats with liver depression and spleen deficiency,thus effectively treating symptoms such as abdominal pain and diarrhea,and has a good therapeutic effect on IBS-D accompanied by depression and anxiety.