Effects of Qingda Granule on the Echocardiographic and Histopathological Features of Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

BAO Liya; WANG Huai; ZHOU Xueling; JIA Beibei; YE Renzhi; ZHANG Ling; CAI Qiaoyan; PENG Jun; CHU Jianfeng

Abstract：Objective To investigate the effects of Qingda granules (QDG) on blood pressure, echocardiographic parameters and pathological detection in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR).Methods Twelve 16-week-old male SHR were randomly divided into model group (SHR group, n =6) and Qingda granule group (SHR+QDG group, n =6), respectively.Six Wistar rats were used as blank control group (Wistar group).The rats in SHR+QDG group were administered with0.8 g/ (kg·d) at a dose of 1 mL each time for 8 weeks.The rats in SHR group and the Wistar group were given the same amount of normal saline per day.The blood pressure was measured every 4 weeks until the 8 th week after administration.The left ventricular septal thickness, left ventricular diameter, and left ventricular posterior wall thickness were measured and recorded by color echocardiography, and left ventricular mass, ejection fraction (EF), and myocardial fractional shortening (FS) were calculated on the day after the end of administration of QDG.The pathological changes of the hearts in rats were observed by Hematoxylin and Eosin (HE) staining.The changes of collagen fibers around the myocardial interstitial and small arterioles in myocardial wall of the rats were observed by Masson staining.The collagen volume fraction (CVF) and perivascular collagen area (PVCA) around the myocardial arterioles were calculated.Results Compared with the SHR group, the systolic, diastolic, and mean pressures were significantly decreased in the SHR+QDG group (P ＜0.05).The left ventricular posterior wall thickness, left ventricular mass, CVF, and PVCA in SHR+QDG group were significantly lower than those in SHR group (P ＜0.05).There was no significant difference in left ventricular septal thickness and left ventricular diameter between SHR+QDG group and SHR group (P＞0.05).Conclusion QDG can significantly reduce blood pressure, improve left ventricular function, alleviate myocardial fibrosis, and protect cardiomyocytes in SHR.