[Effects of xuezhikang capsules on vascular endothelial function and redox status in patients with coronary heart disease].

OBJECTIVE To explore the effects of Xuezhikang Capsules (ZXKC) and probucol on blood lipids, vascular endothelial functions and redox status in patients with coronary heart disease. METHODS One hundred and twelve patients with coronary heart disease were randomly divided into XZKC-treated group and probucol-treated group, 56 in each. Before and after 8-week treatment, the blood levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), nitric oxide (NO), endothelin-1 (ET-1), reduced glutathione (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) were all measured in both groups. The GSH/GSSG redox potential (Eh) was calculated according to the Nernst equation. RESULTS In the XZKC-treated group, the blood levels of TC, LDL-C and TG were significantly decreased after 8-week treatment as compared with those before treatment. The blood levels of TC and LDL-C were also significantly decreased in the probucol-treated group as compared with those before treatment. In the XZKC-treated group, the blood levels of ET-1 and GSSG and the GSH/GSSG Eh after treatment were all significantly lower than those before treatment, whereas the blood levels of GSH and NO, the NO/ET-1 ratio, and the GSH/GSSG ratio after treatment were all significantly higher than those before treatment. CONCLUSION The XZKC or probucol treatment can yield a significant decrease in blood lipids in patients with coronary heart disease. Furthermore, XZKC exerts effective protection on vascular endothelial function, and can make GSH/GSSG redox status shift towards deoxidation.