ABSTRACT
Rikkunshito is comprised of 8 crude drugs and is used for the treatment of gastrointestinal dysfunctions such as anorexia and heavy stomach feeling. These symptoms are often caused by delay in gastric emptying. Cisplatin is a representative cancer chemotherapeutic drug with severe adverse effects such as anorexia and nausea, that gives rise to a delay in gastric emptying. However, it is still unknown whether rikkunshito has effects on improving the delayed gastric emptying induced by cisplatin. In the present study, we examined the effects of rikkunshito (an Atractylodis rhizoma-containing formula) on cisplatin-induced delay in gastric emptying in the rat. Rikkunshito improved this. Among the crude drugs that comprise rikkunshito, Atractylodis rhizoma, Ginseng radix, Poria and Aurantii nobilis pericarpium individually improved the delay in gastric emptying, suggesting that they all contribute to the action of rikkunshito. Moreover, the effects of these 4 crude drugs in combinations were also examined, and as a result, tended to be stronger when Atractylodis rhizoma was included. On the other hand, when Atractylodis rhizoma was excluded from rikkunshito, the effects were weaker. Meanwhile, atractylenolide III, a specific chemical constituent of Atractylodis rhizoma, improved delay in gastric emptying in a manner similar to that of rikkunshito with Atractylodis rhizoma. These results, taken together, suggest that Atractylodis rhizoma likely contributes greatly to the improving effect of rikkunshito on cisplatin-induced delay in gastric emptying.
ABSTRACT
The effects of four Kampo medicines, Ninjin-to, Hange-shashin-to, Rikkunshi-to and Sho-hange-ka-bukuryo-to, were investigated in a rat model of postoperative ileus. The postoperative ileus model was made by incising the abdomen and exposing the small intestine and caecum for five minutes under ether anesthesia. The gastrointestinal transit was estimated by the migration of a charcoal marker. In contrast to the animals anesthetized only, the gastrointestinal transit was markedly decreased in control animals. First, we studied the gastrointestinal prokinetic drugs (cisapride, mosapride and metoclopramide), the anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin, and the Kampo medicine Dai-kenchu-to in this model. They significantly increased the transit as compared with the control. Using the same method, Rikkunshi-to and Sho-hange-ka-bukuryo-to were demon-strated to be almost inactive. However, Ninjin-to and Hange-shashin-to not only significantly improved the gastrointestinal mobility compared to the control, but also showed stronger effects than those of Dai-kenchu-to. These results suggest that in addition to Dai-kenchu-to, Ninjin-to and Hange-shashin-to are also effective Kampo medicines for postoperative ileus.