Heshouwu decoction, a Chinese herb for tonifying kidney, ameliorates hypothalamic-pituitary- testicular axis secretion in aging rats☆

An increasing amount of evidence demonstrates the anti-aging effect of Heshouwu in pill form. In this study, a subacute aging rat model was established by continuous intraperitoneal injection of D-galactose and treated with Heshouwu decoction (a Chinese herb for tonifying the kidney, comprising Heshouwu pill, Herba Epimedii, Radix Salviae Miltiorrhiae, and Poria). Heshouwu pill treated rats were the positive control group. Radioimmunoassay, immunohistochemical staining, and western blot assay showed hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone, hypothalamic substance P, and serum gonadotropin levels to be significantly increased in the model rats; the concentrations of hypothalamic β-endorphin, and serum levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 and testosterone were significantly decreased. 17β- and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase expression in testicular tissue was also decreased. Intragastric administration of Heshouwu decoction at high (9.6 g/mL/100 g), medium (4.8 g/mL/100 g), and low (2.4 g/mL/100 g) doses, Heshouwu decoction pretreatment at a medium dose (4.8 g/mL/100 g), and Heshouwu pill (2.06 g/mL/100 g) significantly reversed these changes. Heshouwu decoction pretreatment and high-dose Heshouwu decoction had the greatest anti-aging effects. These experimental findings indicate that Heshouwu decoction can improve hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis secretion in a subacute aging rat model, and prevent and delay gonadal axis aging, with an effect superior to that of Heshouwu pill.