OBJECTIVETo observe the intervening effect and acting mechanism of Bushen Kangshuai Tablet (BKT) on rabbits' atherosclerosis (AS).

METHODSThirty-six white Japanese rabbits were randomly divided into four groups: 6 in the normal control group, and each 10 in the model group, the BKT group and the simvastatin group. The AS model was established by high fatty diet feeding from the 1st to the 10th week, combined with immune injury at the 2nd week and femoral arterial balloon tearing at the 4th week. The medication of BKT and simvastatin was given during the whole 10-week course. Levels of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), interleukin-1 (IL-1), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were measured at the beginning and the 3rd, 6th and 10th weekend of the experiment. The nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) expression in the aortic wall, ratio of plaque area to intima area (PA/IA), intima thickness (IT), aortic intima/media thickness ratio (IT/MT) and intima hyperplasia index (IHI) were measured at the terminal of the experiment. The correlation analysis was conducted between serum lipids, inflammation factors and IHI.

RESULTSCompared with the normal control group, all indices of the blood lipids and Inflammation factors measured at various time points, and the PA/IA, IT/MT ratios as well as IHI in the model group were higher (P<0.01, P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the levels of IL-1, MCP-1, TNF-alpha, NF-kappaB as well as the ratios of PA/IA, IT/MT and IHI were lower in the two treated groups at all time points after treatment (P<0.01 or P<0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed positive correlation between TC with IL-1, and TNF-alpha with IHI in the model group (P< 0.05); also between TC with IHI, IL-1 with IHI, and TNF-alpha with IHI and IL-1 in the BKT group (P<0.05), while no correlation between blood lipids with inflammation factors was observed.

CONCLUSIONBKT could suppress the inflammation reaction in rabbits to prevent AS formation, the action is not directly correlated with the blood lipid level.