Effects of astragalus membranaceus on urinary endothelin in patients with incipient diabetic nephropathy

Objective: To investigate the effects of Astragalus membranaceus on patients with incipient diabetic nephropathy( IDN).Methods: Forty patients with IDN were randomly divided into two groups. The twenty cases in the treated group (Group A) were treated with Astragalus membranaceus injection 20 ml/d (equivalent to Astragalus membranaceus 40 g) in addition to conventional therapy, whereas the 20 cases in the control group(Group B) were treated only with conventional therapy. The levels of urinary endothelin (UET), and albumin were measured before and after treatment. Blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobulin levels were also measured.Results: After four weeks therapy, the levels of UET and urinary albumin excretion rate. (UAER) in Group A were 39.8 ± 12.7 pg/12h and 37.3 ± 30.4 μg/min respectively as compared with Group B (51.2±12.8pg/12h, 79.6 ± 35.8μg/min respectively, P<0.05, P<0.01 respectively). Compared with the pretreatment level, the UET and UAER values declined significantly in Group A(P< 0.01), but not in Group B(P>0. 05). One month after stopping use of Astragalus membranaceus, the levels of UET and UAER in Group A were still lower than those in Group B, and the difference in the two groups was statistically significant.Conclusion: Astragalus membranaceus might reduce UET and UAER in patients with IDN.