Energy metabolism, immune function, and intestinal flora in rats with kidney-yin deficiency treated with raw or saltwater-processed Phellodendron chinense Schneid

To clarify the specific mechanisms of action of raw Phellodendron chinense Schneid. (RPC) and saltwater-processed PC (SPC) in the treatment of rats with a kidney-yin deficiency pattern (KYDP). Healthy rats were administered hydrocortisone to establish a KYDP model. The rats were divided into seven groups: blank control, model, positive control (Liuwei Dihuang pills), high-dose RPC, low-dose RPC, high-dose SPC, and low-dose SPC. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure the levels of cAMP, cGMP, TRH, TSH, T3, T4, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and testosterone in the serum and the levels of Na + -K + -ATPase and Ca 2+ -Mg 2+ -ATPase in the liver. TRH mRNA expression in the rat hypothalamus was measured using RT-PCR. THRα1+2 protein expression in the hypothalamus of rats was measured using Western blot. Immunohistochemistry was performed to determine the expression levels of FAS, FasL, and TSHR. Flow cytometry was used to determine CD4 + and CD8 + T lymphocyte levels. Illumina MiSeq sequencing technology was used to evaluate the diversity of intestinal flora in KYDP rats. The cAMP/cGMP ratio was significantly higher in the model group than in the blank control group ( P = .048). Compared with the model group, after administration, the levels of the above-mentioned serum and liver indexes decreased, except that of testosterone. The CD4 + /CD8 + ratio also decreased. Compared with the RPC group, the levels of T3, IFN-γ, FAS, FasL, and TSHR in the SPC group decreased whereas that of testosterone increased. Additionally, immune function and intestinal flora diversity improved in the SPC group. SPC proved to be more effective in improving liver energy metabolism in KYDP rats than RPC. SPC had a better therapeutic effect on KYDP than RPC. The underlying mechanism of action may be related to improvements in liver energy metabolism, immune function, and intestinal flora diversity.