A preliminary study on the radioprotection of mouse hematopoiesis by dang-gui-shao-yao-san

The purpose of this study reported here was to investigate the ability of Dang-Gui-Shao-Yao-San (DGSYS), known to elevate hematopoietic functions, to protect mice undergoing treatment with whole body single X-irradiation. DGSYS given at doses of 10 and 20 mg/20 g body weight, once a day, for 7 consecutive days before irradiation protected ICR strain mice from the sublethal effects of radiation in a dose-dependent manner. Prior administration of 20 mg/20 g DGSYS increased the number of femoral spleen colony-forming units (CFU-S) that survived irradiation, and significantly ameliorated leukopenia, thrombocytopenia and the degression of hematocrits after irradiation. These results suggest that DGSYS may be effective in the prevention of hematopoietic injury caused by sublethal dose irradiation.