[Therapeutic research on kidney-tonifying herbs on the adrenocortical function in the aged].

The authors have observed the aging change of the adrenocortical function and the effect of the Kidney-tonifying herbs on such a change. The result showed that there was no statistical difference in the plasma cortisol levels between the aged and the young persons, and so was in the plasma corticosterone levels between the aged and the young rats. As the circulating steroids level depends on the balance of the secretion ability of the adrenal cortex and the peripheral degradation rate of the hormone, the authors measured the corticosterone concentration of the culture solution of the adrenocortical cells in vitro of the rats with different age to observe the secretion ability of the adrenocortical cell exclusively. The result showed that the corticosteróne concentration was significantly lower in the culture solution of the adrenocortical cell of the aged rats than that of the young rats, which suggests that the secretion ability of the adrenal cortex declines with aging. In addition, the authors determined the reserve power of the adrenal cortex with different age and found that the increased multiple of the salivary cortisol concentration 60 minutes after the stimulation of ACTH analogue was markedly lower in the aged persons than that in the young persons. The response of the cultured adrenocortical cells to secret corticosterone to the stimulation of ACTH analogue was also significantly lower in the aged rats than that in the young rats, which suggests that the reserve power of the adrenal cortex was also decreased with aging.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)