Dai Huang Fu Zi Tang could ameliorate intestinal injury in a rat model of hemorrhagic shock by regulating intestinal blood flow and intestinal expression of p-VASP and ZO-1

BACKGROUND: Dai Huang Fu Zi Tang (DHFZT), an oriental herbal formula, has long been used clinically in treatment of intestinal obstruction, acute pancreatitis, cholecystalgia and chronic diarrhea for thousands of years. Recent studies have demonstrated that DHFZT can reduce intestinal pathological injury and the concentration of enterogenous endotoxin in an animal model. But the underlying mechanism has not been fully elucidated. METHODS: SD male rats in adult were used to model HS and treated with DHFZT. The serum concentration of endotoxin were analyzed by dynamic turbidimetric method. In addition, the blood flow of small intestine were measured using laser speckle technique. Phosphorylated vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (p-VASP) and zonula occludens (ZO)-1 protein, intestinal fatty acid binding protein (IFABP) were measured by Western Blotting, RT-PCR, ELISA respectively. RESULTS: Present study showed that DHFZT markedly elevated the blood flow of small intestine, protected the intestinal barrier function by up-regulating the expression of ZO-1 protein and down-regulating expression of p-VASP, and notely decreased serum concentration of IFABP and endotoxin in HS. CONCLUSIONS: These results reveal that DHFZT improves intestinal blood flow, protects the intestinal barrier function, and ameliorates intestinal endotoxaemia in rats with HS.