OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of Qingzhi soft capsule, a preparation of traditional Chinese medicine, on blood lipid level and the pathology of fatty degeneration of the liver in rats with hyperlipidemia.

METHODSSD rats were subjected to daily intragastric administration of a high-cholesterol emulsion (10 ml/kg) every morning to induce hyperlipidemia. The rats with established hyperlipidemia were then randomized into 4 groups and received every afternoon intragastric administration of high-dose (150 mg/kg) and low-dose (75 mg/kg) Qingzhi capsule, Xuezhikang (150 mg/kg, positive control ), and distilled water of the same volume (model group), respectively. A normal control group was also used in which the rats were given only distilled water in the same manner. After 21 days of treatment, all the rats were sacrificed for determining the serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels as well as the atherosclerosis index (AI). The liver of the rats was taken for examination of the pathology of fatty degeneration under microscope.

RESULTSThe TC and TG levels in both of the Qingzhi capsule groups were significantly lower than those in the hyperlipidemic model group, but no significant differences were noted in HDL-C and LDL-C levels between the Qingzhi and model groups. AI was markedly lower in the two Qingzhi groups than in the model group. Pathological examination of the liver showed milder hepatic pathology of fatty degeneration in the Qingzhi groups than in the model group.

CONCLUSIONQingzhi soft capsule can modulate the blood lipid levels, ameliorate the hepatic pathology of fatty degeneration and lowers AI in in hyperlipidemic rats.