Short communicationComponents of Panax ginseng that improve accelerated small intestinal transit
Introduction
Ginseng Radix, the root of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer (Araliaceae), is widely used in herbal medicine, and shows a variety of biological activities, i.e. improvement of gastrointestinal symptoms, sedative and tonic (Nabata et al., 1973, Kaku et al., 1975, Takagi et al., 1972a, Takagi et al., 1972b). In addition, it is a component of Dai-kenchu-to, a Chinese prescription currently used frequently in Japan to treat abdominal symptoms such as postoperative ileus (Horie et al., 1995, Furukawa et al., 1995). We previously demonstrated that Dai-kenchu-to enhanced gastrointestinal motility under normal conditions (Murata et al., 2001), and that hydroxy β-sanshool was identified as one of the active components (Hashimoto et al., 2001). However, we have recently found that Dai-kenchu-to improves the carbachol-induced accelerated small intestinal transit, and that the aqueous extract (90 mg/kg) of Ginseng Radix possesses ameliorative effects (Satoh et al., 2001). In the present study, we attempted to determine the functional component of Ginseng Radix ameliorating the accelerated transit of the small intestine.
Section snippets
Plant material
Plant material was commercially purchased in Japan and was identified by Dr M. Higuchi in our laboratory. A voucher specimen (No. 12206980) has been deposited in our institute.
Chemical experiments
Optical rotation was measured on a JASCO DIP-360 polarimeter. EI-mass spectra were recorded on a Kratos Concept 32 1S Spectrometer at 70 eV. FAB-mass spectra were recorded on a Kratos Concept 32 1H Spectrometer using NBA as a matrix. 1H- and 13C-NMR experiments were performed with a Bruker AM-500 Spectrometer operating at
Results and discussion
On the carbachol-induced accelerated small intestinal transit model in mice, we assessed the effects of Fr. G1–G4 fractionated from aqueous extracts of Ginseng Radix at the dosage based on the yield of each fraction. Only Fr. G3 (4.0 mg/kg) showed a significant ameliorative effect (Fig. 1A). As shown in Fig. 2, seven compounds (1–7) were isolated as major components of Fr. G3. The activities of these components were examined at doses of 0.4, 1.0 and 2.0 mg/kg. Compounds 4 and 7 showed
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