Effects of Erxian decoction, a Chinese medicinal formulation, on serum lipid profile in a rat model of menopause

Abstract

BackgroundThe prevalence and risk of cardiovascular disease increase after menopause in correlation with the progression of abnormality in the serum lipid profile and the deprivation of estrogen. Erxian decoction (EXD), a Chinese medicinal formulation for treating menopausal syndrome, stimulates ovarian estrogen biosynthesis. This study investigates whether EXD improves the serum lipid profile in a menopausal rat model.MethodsTwenty-month-old female Sprague Dawley rats were treated with EXD and its constituent fractions. Premarin was administered for comparison. After eight weeks of treatment, rats were sacrificed and the serum levels of total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol and low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol were determined. The hepatic protein levels of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase and low-density-lipoprotein receptor were assessed with Western blot.ResultsThe serum levels of total cholesterol and low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol were significantly lower in the EXD-treated group than in the constituent fractions of EXD or premarin groups. However, the serum levels of triglyceride and high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol were not significantly different from the control groups. Results from Western blot suggest that EXD significantly down-regulated the protein level of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase and up-regulated low-density-lipoprotein receptor. Conclusion EXD improves serum lipid profile in a menopausal rat model through the suppression of the serum levels of total cholesterol and low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol, possibly through the down-regulation of the 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA and up-regulation of the low-density-lipoprotein receptor.

Network pharmacological identification of active compounds and potential actions of Erxian decoction in alleviating menopause-related symptoms

“…For example, candidate compounds such as berberine, palmatine, and jatrorrhizine, which we identified using our drug prediction method, have been shown to exhibit extensive pharmacological activities [ 59 , 60 ]. From the enrichment analysis based on the available information for compound–protein and compound–gene interactions of EXD, we identified the most significantly related pathways and gene-associated disease, including pathways related to endocrine [ 35 ], VEGF [ 61 ], lipid metabolism [ 62 ] and anti-inflammatory [ 34 ]. Their pharmacological association with EXD were in line with previous publications [ 34 , 35 , 61 , 62 ].…”

“…For the lipid metabolism, EXD associated-pathways related to linoleic acid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis, glycerophospholipid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, and PPAR were identified [ 65 – 69 ]. Besides, our previous study found that EXD could improve the lipid profile in cardiovascular disease [ 62 ].…”

Chinese herbal formulas for postmenopausal osteoporosis: A review of preclinical evidence on animal studies and molecular mechanism

“…12 It improved serum lipid profile in OVX rats through suppression of total cholesterol and low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol serum levels. 13 Another study pointed out that the antiosteoporotic effect of EXD was related to an increase of endocrine and antioxidant function through, at least, the activation of aromatase and catalase detoxifying pathways. 14 The study of EXD on femur proteomics in OVX rats showed that the differentially expressed proteins, mainly involved in biological oxidation, cytoskeleton, signal transduction pathway, aliphatic acid metabolism, glucose metabolism, and energy metabolism, had consistent variation trend with the sham group.…”

A network pharmacology approach to explore the mechanisms of Erxian decoction in polycystic ovary syndrome

“…Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been continually practiced since 2000 years. The Erxian decoction (EXD) consists of six herbs: Epimedium brevicornum (Yinyanghuo), Curculigo orchioides (Xianmao), Morinda officinalis (Bajitian), Angelica sinensis (Danggui), Anemarrhena asphodeloides (Zhimu) and Phellodendron chinense (Huangbo), and is used to mitigate menopausal side effects [ 8 ], osteoporosis [ 9 ], and ovarian failure [ 10 ]. One study showed that EXD upregulated estrogen receptor, enhanced ovarian function, reduced serum FSH and LH levels, increased E2 and progesterone levels, decreased malonic dialdehyde (MDA) in ovarian tissues, increased total anti-oxidative capacity (T-AOC), reduced follicular atresia by increasing follicle count, and reduced cell stromal hyperplasia [ 11 ].…”