Abstract

We aimed to evaluate the effect of Daochi Chengqi decoction on reversing acute heart and liver injury in rats with summer-heat syndrome of epidemic febrile disease. The Daochi Chengqi decoction-containing serum was prepared by the intragastric administration of Sprague-Dawley rats, and then prepared into complete medium with basal medium for cell intervention. The effects of Daochi Chengqi decoction on the viability of myocardial cells H9C2 and liver cells BRL3A in rats injured by high temperature were detected by cell counting kit-8 assay. Forty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into negative control group, epidemic febrile disease model group, low-dose Daochi Chengqi decoction group (1 mg/kg), middle-dose Daochi Chengqi decoction group (2 mg/kg) and high-dose Daochi Chengqi decoction group (4 mg/kg). With increasing concentration of Daochi Chengqi decoction, both exhaustion time and movement distance increased, and the body temperature reduced (p<0.05). The mean mitochondrial membrane potential, calcium ions concentration and superoxide dismutase activity in myocardial and liver cells significantly dropped in the model group compared to those in the negative group, and they all rose with increasing concentration of Daochi Chengqi decoction (p<0.05). The messenger ribonucleic acid and protein expressions of toll-like receptor 4, nuclear factor-kappa B and p53 in myocardial and liver cells were significantly higher in the model group than those in the negative group (p<0.01), and they declined with increasing concentration of Daochi Chengqi decoction (p<0.05). Daochi Chengqi decoction can relieve mitochondrial oxidative damage by inhibiting the activity of the tolllike receptor 4/nuclear factor-kappa B signaling pathway.