Comparative evaluation in treating qi-yin deficiency and phlegm stasis syndrome of type 2 diabetes mellitus in a rat model

To compare the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), western medicine and integrative medicine in treating type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in a rat model.

The T2DM rat model was established with a high-fat diet (HFD) for 35 days and a single injection of streptozotocin (STZ, 30 mg/kg). The T2DM-induced rats were divided into three groups, and treated with Yiqi Yangyin Huatan (YQYYHT) granules (3.84 g/kg per day), pioglitazone (1.35 mg/kg per day) or YQYYHT granules + pioglitazone (3.84 g/kg per day+1.35 mg/kg per day) respectively for 14 days. Clinical features and behavioral changes, as well as T2DM indicators, were recorded to evaluate therapeutics effects in each treatment group.

The T2DM rat model expressed insulin resistance (IR), with features similar to qi-yin deficiency and phlegm stasis syndrome, including decreased cyclic adenosine monophosphate/cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cAMP/cGMP) ratio, decreased levels of Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and increased levels of serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC) and low density lipoprotein (LDL-C). All three treatment groups showed significant decreases in fasting blood glucose (FBG) and fasting insulin (Fins), and improvement of TCM syndrome to different degrees. Importantly, YQYYHT improved the most of the indicators of T2DM, followed by integrative medicine and pioglitazone alone.

Compared with western medicine or integrative medicine, prescription of TCM based on syndrome differentiation may offer more advantages in the prevention and treatment of T2DM.