An experimental analysis of therapeutic effects of a Chinese herbal prescription in streptozocin-treated rats

A Chinese herbal prescription, Hachimijiogan, is one of the traditional Kampo prescriptions in Japan and China, and has been widely used for treatment of several chronic disease including diabetes mellitus. The present study provides experimental evidence for significant lowering of the streptozocin (STZ)-induced increase in plasma glucose level, and for significant recovery to the intact levels of plasma insulin and C-peptide in the STZ-treated rats after treatment for four weeks with the prescription. Signs of diabetes mellitus in the STZ-treated rats were also recovered by the treatment with this medicine. These results suggest strongly that Hachimijiogan has the substantial pharmacological basis of therapeutics on insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM).