Protective effects of Sculellaria barbata combined with acupuncture on the structure of liver，spleen and lung in type 2 diabetes mellitus rats

【Objective】To explore the therapeutic effect of Sculellaria barbata alcohol extract combined with acupuncture on type 2 diabetes mellitus（T2DM）in rats，so as to provide effective treatment for animal T2DM and to ensure the healthy development of the pet industry.【Method】A total of 60 male SPF Wistar rats aged four weeks were randomly di-vided into two groups: 15 in the healthy control group（group H）and 45 in the modeling group（group M）；Rat T2DM was modeled by the administration of streptozotocin（STZ，45 mg/kg）combined with a high sugar and lipid diet. Rats successfully modeled were randomly divided into the model control group（group M with 15 rats），S. barbata treatment group（group S with 15 rats）and S. barbata combined with acupuncture treatment group（group A with 15 rats，and the acupuncture points were Pishu，Shenshu，Sanyinjiao and Zusanli）. Group A and group S were treated for 3 courses with 6 d per course. The caudal venous blood were collected to measure fasting blood glucose（FBG）on the 7^th，14^th and 21^st days of treatment. Simultaneously，5 rats in each treatment group were killed and their liver，spleen and lung were fixed and paraffin sections prepared. The pathological changes in organizational structure were observed in the liver and spleen stained with HE，while the lung was stained with HE and Masson.【Result】Compared with group H，the weight of rats in group M decreased significantly（P<0.01，the same below），while FBG increased significantly；liver cells developed from edema to steatosis or focal necrosis and the infiltration of inflammatory cells increased gradually；the spleen tissue showed local cell necrosis，the distribution of red pulp and white pulp was chaotic and lymphocytes appeared to decline in number with a disordered arrangement；pulmonary alveoli displayed hemorrhaging with collapsed or absent alveoli with consolidation and collagen fibers in the bronchial submucosa and vascular wall were more prolific.Compared with group M，the weight of rats in group A and group S showed an increasing trend and increased significantly on the 21^st day of treatment，while FBG decreased significantly on the 14^th and 21^st days of treatment；hepatic steatosis was improved，edema was reduced and infiltration of inflammatory cells was reduced；the structure and germinal center of red pulp and white pulp of spleen gradually tended towards the healthy control and the number of lymphocytes and splenic nodules increased with a higher increase in group A than in group S；lung internal hemorrhaging and inflammatory cells were decreased；the thickening degree of the pulmonary septum in group A was lower than that in group S.【Conclusion】The model of T2DM in rats induced by STZ combined with a high lipid and high sugar diet effectively and stably induces T2DM symptoms with damage to the liver，spleen and lung. S. barbata alone or combined with acupuncture both improve the organizational structure of the liver，spleen and lung in T2DM symptomatic rats，while the effect of S. barbata combined with acupuncture is more significant.