Objective: To study the effect of aqueous abstract from eucommia ulmoides oliv on the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and alpha-actin expression in the penile tissues of rats with diabetes mellitus (DM) in vitro.
Methods: A diabetes model was established by administration of alloxun twice to Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. Ten diabetic and 10 normal rats were randomly selected and the penile strips of each rat were divided into four equal shares and cultured in two groups, a eucommia ulmoides oliv coculture group (Group A, further dicided into 1 microg/ml, 10 microg/ml and 100 microg/ml subgroups) and a control group (Group B). Seven days later, the activity of SOD in the culture medium was detected by spectrophotometry, and the levels of micro-actin expression in the penile tissues were examined with the immunohistochemical method.
Results: Compared with Group B, the activity of SOD in the culture medium in athe 10 and 100 microg/ml subgroups was notably elevated (P < 0.01), and the numbers of immunoreactive positive cells of alpha-actin in the penile tissues remarkably increased (P < 0.01).
Conclusion: The activity of SOD and alpha-actin expression in the penile tissues of diabetic rats in vitro can be increased by eucommia ulmioides oliv.