OBJECTIVETo study the influence and therapeutic effect of the Chinese herbal drug Shengjing Granule on varicocele in rats.

METHODSA total of 80 male Sprague-Dawley rats were equally randomized into a sham operation group and 3 varicocele model groups, and the latter 3 again subdivided into a model, a Shengjing and a Clomifene group. Fifteen days after the modeling, the Shengjing and the Clomifene groups were intragastrically given Shengling Granule and Clomifene at the dose of 4 g/(kg x d) and 20 mg/(kg x d), respectively, while the model and sham operation groups were on normal diet. Thirty days later, the effects of Shengjing Granule were assessed by determining such serum sexual hormones as FSH, LH and T and observing the morphological changes of the testes of different groups of rats under the light microscope.

RESULTSThe testis constitution was better and the levels of FSH and LH were significantly lower in the Shengjing group than in the model and Clomifene groups (P<0.05) but markedly higher in the Clomifene group than in the other three. The T level showed no obvious difference among the Shengjing, Clomifene and sham operation groups but was significantly higher in the three groups than in the model group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONShengjing Granule can not only protect the testis from but also repair varicocele-induced injury, probably with a better efficacy than Clomifene.