Danhong injection (DHI), a Chinese medical product extracted from Radix et Rhizoma Salviae Miltiorrhizae (Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge., Labiatae, Danshen in Chinese) and Flos Carthami (Carthamus tinctorius L., Compositae, Honghua in Chinese), has been reported to have anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative and anti-fibrinolytic properties and is used extensively for the clinical treatment of cardiovascular disease in clinic. This study aimed to investigate the preventive and therapeutic effects of DHI on hyperlipidemia.

Forty-eight adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: normal control (NC), model control (MC) and DHI-treated at doses of 1.0 mL/kg and 2.0 mL/kg. The effects of DHI on serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), glucose, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were evaluated and insulin was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Moreover, the expression of acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 (ACC1), fatty acid synthase (FAS), carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1 (CPT1), hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPAR-α) in liver were determined by real-time PCR.

Compared with the MC group, rats treated with DHI had significantly reduced TG, TC, LDL-C and arteriosclerosis index (AI). Expression of FAS and HMGR mRNA was significantly reduced, whereas the CPT1 and PPAR-α were significantly increased.

DHI treatment was accompanied by significantly increased lipolysis in the liver and decreased fatty acid synthesis. The insights gained from this study will improve both understanding of the mechanisms involved in the effect of DHI on hyperlipidemia and the pharmacological rationale for the use of DHI in diseases caused by lipid metabolic disorders.