Abstract: AIM: To study the effects of Liu wei di huang pills (LWDH) on the vascular endothelial function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).METHODS: Sixty patients with T2DM were randomized into LWDH group (n=30) and routine treatment group (n=30). Meanwhile, 10 healthy subjects served as the normal control group. On the basis of routine western medicine, patients in LWDH group were treated with LWDH, with a treatment course of 12 weeks. The levels of nitric oxide (NO), endothelin-1 (ET-1), super-oxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were detected and the level of flow mediated vasodilatation (FMD) was assessed by Doppler ultrasound before and after 12 week treatment in all subjects.RESULTS: Before treatment the level of the ET-1 in LWDH group and routine treatment group was significantly higher than those of control group (P<0.01). However, the levels of the NO, SOD, GSH-PX, and FMD were significantly lower than that in control group (P<0.01). As compared with those before treatment, those indexes after treatment were obviously improved in LWDH group and routine treatment group (P<0.05). Furthermore, the improvement effect in LWDH group was more obvious than that in routine treatment group (P<0.05).CONCLUSION: LWDH pills can ameliorate the vascular endothelial function inT2DM on the basis of routine treatment.

Key words: Liuwei dihuang pills, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, Endothelial function