The Effect of Pyrrosiae Herba Herbal-acupuncture at KI₁₀ on Lipopolysaccharide Induced Nephritis in Rats

Abstract

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of Pyrrosiae Herba herbalacupuncture(PH-HA) at KI10(Umgok) on nephritis induced by lipopolysaccharide(LPS) in rats. Methods : Rats were assigned to four groups: normal, LPS, saline and PH-HA. Rats in the saline and PH-HA groups were treated with saline injection and PH-HA respectively at KI10, three times over the period of one week. All animals, except those in the normal group, were injected intra-peritoneally with LPS to induce nephritis. WBC, in blood, tumor necrosis factor alpha(TNF-α), cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant 1(CINC-1), blood urea nitrogen(BUN), creatinine in serum, urinal volume, total protein creatinine in urine, and renal myeloperoxidase (MPO) were analyzed. Results : 1. PH-HA group showed significantly reduced levels of serum BUN, serum creatinine, TNF-α, and CINC-1 compared to the LPS group. Furthermore, a significant increase in urine output and more significant decreases in total protein in urine and MPO in renal tissue were observed in the PH-HA group when compared to the LPS group. 2. The PH-HA group showed significantly reduced levels of serum creatinine and renal MPO, and a more significant increase in urine output compared to the saline group. Conclusions : According to these results, it is postulated that PH-HA at KI10 has antiinflammatory and renal-protective effects on LPS-induced nephritis in rats, and both acupoint KI10 and the herb Pyrrosiae Herba made contributions to these effects. Further studies on the interaction between acupoint KI10 and the herb Pyrrosiae Herba may be needed.