OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness of salidroside(Sal) and pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate(PDTC) against severe acute pancreatitis(SAP) in a rat model. METHODS: Rat models of SAP were established by retrograde infusion of sodium taurocholate solution. SAP rats were randomly divided into 6 groups: SAP 3 h group, SAP 24 h group, low-dose Sal treatment group(Sal L+S), middle-dose Sal treatment group(Sal M+S), high-dose Sal treatment group(Sal H+S) and PDTC treatment group(PDTC+S). The serum amylase, tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), interleukin-1β(IL-1β) and interleukin-10(IL-10) levels were determined by optical turbidimetry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The expression of Beclin-1, microtubule-associated protein light chain 3Ⅱ(LC3 Ⅱ), lysosome associated membrane protein 2(LAMP2), interleukin-1 receptor associated kinase 1(IRAK1), inhibitor α of nuclear transcription factor-κB(IκBα), nuclear transcription factor-κB 65(p65) in the pancreas tissues were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot, while the pIκBα and p-p65 levels were detected by Western blot.Pathological changes of the pancreas and all the other indexes were observed at 3 and 24 h after operation. RESULTS: The serum IL-10 level, IκBα and LAMP2 levels in Sal M+S, Sal H+S and PDTC+S groups were higher than those in SAP 24 h group, while all the other indexes in these three groups were all lower significantly than those in SAP 24 h group. There was no significant difference in all indexes between Sal H+S and PDTC+S groups. CONCLUSION: High-dose Sal has an effectively therapeutic effect on SAP in rats, which was similar to PDTC.