The effects of rhubarb on mercury chloride (HgCl2)-induced acute renal injury were assessed and its protective constituents were investigated.The core molecules in rhubarb, namely total anthraquinones (TA) and total tannins (TT), were separated in addition to the remaining component extract (RC) from the total extract (TR) of the herb.Rats were orally administered each extract for five successive days, followed by HgCl2 injury, to test the protective effect of the extracts.The results showed that pre-treatment with the TR and TA increased the survival rate of the animals, while pre-treatment with the TT and RC did not have a protective effect on survival.There was a significant decline in serum creatine and urea nitrogen in addition to a recovery of urine volume in the rat groups pre-treated with TR and TA.The renal histopathology of the TR and TA pre-treated animals also demonstrated a definite protection compared to the untreated HgCl2-injured animals.In addition, the HgCl2-induced decrements of the GSH and GPx activities were not prevented by TR and TA treatments, suggesting that the two extracts could not influence the oxidative stress induced by HgCl2.These results suggest that rhubarb can ameliorate HgCl2-induced acute renal injury effectively through the anthraquinones rather than the tannins.
Ling-na Zeng Dan Yan Yu-min Guo Jia-bo Wang Xiao-he Xiao Lin-dong Zhang Qi Li Zhi-jie Ma Yan-ling Zhao Pin Zhang Ya-ming Zhang Lu-shan Qin Rui-sheng Li
China Military Institute of Chinese Medicine,302 Military Hospital,Beijing,China;Faculty of Life Sci China Military Institute of Chinese Medicine,302 Military Hospital,Beijing,China Integrative Medicine Center,302 Military Hospital,Beijing,China Faculty of Life Science and Technology,Kunming University of Science and Technology,Kunming,China China Military Institute of Chinese Medicine,302 Military Hospital,Beijing,China;College of Pharmacy Experimental Animal Center,302 Military Hospital,Beijing,China