Original articles

Effect of nourishing Yin and purging fire Chinese herbal mixture on delaying light-induced premature puberty in rats

  • Yanyan SUN ,
  • Yuanyuan XUE ,
  • Wen SUN ,
  • Yonghong WANG ,
  • Jian YU
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  • 1 Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai 201102, China
    2 Department of Pediatrics, Zibo Central Hospital, Zibo 255000, China

Received date: 2022-08-03

  Accepted date: 2022-11-15

  Online published: 2023-08-14

Supported by

National Natural Science Foundation-funded Project: Study on the Experimental Animal Model of Precocious Puberty with Syndrome of Yin Deficiency and Fire Hyperactivity by Changing the Cycle of Light Exposure(81373692);The Constructive Project of Flagship Hospital of Integrated TCM with Western Medicine in Children’s Hospital of Fudan University(ZY(2021-2023)-0205-03);Network Coverage of Coordinated Medical Practice Combined TCM with Western Medicine in Fudan Pediatric Medical Partnerships Union(ZY(2021-2023)-0206-06)

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the mechanism of the nourishing Yin and purging fire Chinese herbal mixture (NYPF) in delaying light-induced premature puberty in rats.

METHODS: Twenty-one days old female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to normal group (N), long light exposure group (L), NYPF and normal saline group (NS). Rats in the L, NYPF and NS groups were exposed to 16 h: 350 lux light/8 h: dark, while rats in the N group were exposed to 12 h: 50 lux light/12 h: dark. NYPF and normal saline was administered to the rats in the NYPF group or NS group, respectively, from day 21. Five rats in every group were sacrificed at 9 p.m. on day 28 (P28), on the day when rat’s vulva opened in the L group (L-VO), on the day when the first estrous interphase occurred in rats of L group (L-E1), and on the day when the second estrous interphase occurred in rats of L group (L-E2), respectively.

RESULITS: On day 34, all rats in the L group, 80% of rats in the NS group, 40% of rats in the N group, and 20% of rats in the NYPF group showed complete opening of the vulva. At P28, mRNA level of hypothalamic kisspeptin (Kiss-1) in the L group was significantly higher than that in the N group (P < 0.05). The rats in the L and NS groups had significantly lower hypothalamic arginine-phenylalanine-amide (RFamide)-related peptide 3 (RFRP-3) mRNA levels than those in the N group (P < 0.05), whereas RFRP-3 mRNA level was significantly higher in the NYPF group than that in the L group (P < 0.05). At L-VO, the ovarian index of the L and NS groups was significantly higher than that of the N group (P < 0.05) and estradiol (E2) level of the NYPF group was significantly lower than that of the N and NS groups (P < 0.05); hypothalamic Kiss-1 mRNA level in the L and NS groups was significantly higher than that in the N and NYPF groups (P < 0.05), whereas hypothalamic RFRP-3 mRNA level in the L, NYPF, and NS groups was significantly lower than that in the N group (P < 0.05). At L-E1, E2 level of the L and NS groups was significantly higher than that of the N group (P < 0.01), whereas it was significantly lower in the NYPF group than that of the N, L, and NS groups (P < 0.01), and serum luteinizing hormone level of the L and NS groups was significantly higher than that of the N group (P < 0.05); levels of serum melatonin and ovarian melatonin receptor 1 (MT-1) mRNA in the L, NYPF, and NS groups were significantly lower than those in the N group (P < 0.05). At L-E2, the uterine organ index of the NYPF group was significantly lower than that of the L group (P < 0.05); and ovarian MT-1 mRNA level of the L and NS groups was significantly lower than that in the N group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: NYPF can delay puberty onset in rats exposed to strong light for a prolonged duration, and regulation of the gene expression of Kiss-1 and RFRP-3 in the hypothalamus has been suggested as one of the mechanisms.

Cite this article

Yanyan SUN , Yuanyuan XUE , Wen SUN , Yonghong WANG , Jian YU . Effect of nourishing Yin and purging fire Chinese herbal mixture on delaying light-induced premature puberty in rats[J]. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2024 , 44(1) : 95 -102 . DOI: 10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.20230814.001

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