Effect of Danhong Huayu Koufuye combined with insulin on prevention and progression of early diabetic nephropathy in rats

Danhong Huayu Koufuye (DHK), a traditional Chinese prescription, has activities of promoting blood circulation to remove blood stasis and promoting qi circulation to remove meridian obstruction. The aim of the study was to investigate effects of DHK, insulin and their combination on diabetic nephropathy(DN)in streptozotocin(STZ, 50 mg/kg, ip)-induced diabetic Sprague-Dawley rats. Rats were divided into five groups: normal control, model control, insulin, DHK, and DHK plus insulin. The animals were treated once daily for 15 weeks starting one week after STZ injection. The combination of DHK with insulin resulted in more significant effects than insulin or DHK alone on decreasing fasting blood glucose, 24 h water intake, diet intake and urine volume, reducing serum urea level and urea-to-Cr ratio, promoting kidney hypertrophy and renal damage, and increasing serum Na⁺ and Cl^- level as well. These results suggest that DHK may be a valuable adjuvant therapy for DN.