Effects of Kang-Jia-Wan, a Chinese medicinal herb officinal, on apoptosis induction in goiter of rats

Ethnopharmacological relevanceKang-Jia-Wan (KJW), a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, is widely used to treat goiter in the clinics in China.AimThe mechanisms by which KJW treats goiter are unclear. It is known that insufficient apoptosis of thyrocytes is involved in the formation of goiter. Here, we investigated whether KJW could induce apoptosis in goiter of rats given methimazole (MMI).Materials and methodsFifty-six Wistar rats were randomly separated into four groups: normal, MMI, MMI + low-dose KJW and MMI + high-dose KJW. Except for the normal group (20 rats), all groups (each with 12 rats) were given 0.04% (w/v) MMI in their drinking water. One week later, the rats in MMI + low- and high-dose KJW groups were orally supplemented with KJW at 250 mg/kg d−1 and 1000 mg/kg d−1, respectively.ResultsAfter KJW treatment for 12 weeks, the relative thyroid weight (mg/100 g body weight) of the MMI + high-dose KJW group decreased significantly. Features of apoptosis were also apparent in thyroid tissues of rats given KJW treatment. Importantly, KJW markedly increased the caspase-3 and Fas protein expression, in a dose-dependent manner, in the thyroid specimens.ConclusionsThese results showed that KJW played a therapeutic role via apoptosis induction in the goitrous glands.