Figure 1.

Effects of XST on physical and biochemical parameters, as well as renal histopathology in diabetic rats. Effects of XST on urinary ACR (a), kidney weight/body weight ratio (b), BUN (d), serum creatinine (e), and ALT (f) in diabetic rats. Blood glucose at baseline in rats (c). Representative HE (g) and PAS (h) staining of kidney sections. Representative quantitative analysis for mesangial matrix expansion (i, j). Normal: normal control rats; model: STZ-induced diabetic rats; Losartan: diabetic rats treated with Losartan; XST: diabetic rats treated with Xuesaitong. XST (5 mg/kg·d) or Losartan (10 mg/kg·d) was intragastrically administrated once daily for 12 weeks. ACR: albumin/creatinine ratio; BUN: blood urea nitrogen; ALT: alanine aminotransferase. Scale bar = 100 μm. Red arrowheads indicated mesangial expansions. Results were expressed as the means ± SEM (n = 8). ^#P < 0.05 vs. normal; ^∗P < 0.05 vs. model.