Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Apr 21, 2017; 23(15): 2705-2715
Published online Apr 21, 2017. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v23.i15.2705
Effects of Hwangryunhaedok-tang on gastrointestinal motility function in mice
Hyoyeon Kim, Iksung Kim, Min Cheol Lee, Hyun Jung Kim, Guem San Lee, Hyungwoo Kim, Byung Joo Kim
Hyoyeon Kim, Iksung Kim, Min Cheol Lee, Hyun Jung Kim, Byung Joo Kim, Division of Longevity and Biofunctional Medicine, Healthy Aging Korean Medical Research Center, School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University, Yangsan 50612, South Korea
Guem San Lee, Wonkwang University College of Korean Medicine, Iksan 54538, South Korea
Hyungwoo Kim, Division of Pharmacology, School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University, Yangsan 50612, South Korea
Author contributions: Kim H and Kim BJ designed the research; Kim H, Kim I, Lee MC, Kim HJ, Lee GS and Kim H performed the experiments; Kim H and Kim BJ analyzed the data; and Kim H and Kim BJ wrote the paper.
Supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government (MSIP), No. 2014R1A5A2009936.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no disclosures.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Byung Joo Kim, PhD, Associate Professor, Division of Longevity and Biofunctional Medicine, Healthy Aging Korean Medical Research Center, School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University, Beomeori, Mulgeum-eup, Yangsan 50612, Gyeongsangnamdo, South Korea. vision@pusan.ac.kr
Telephone: +82-51-5108469 Fax: +82-51-5108420
Received: December 3, 2016
Peer-review started: December 6, 2016
First decision: February 9, 2017
Revised: February 22, 2017
Accepted: March 20, 2017
Article in press: March 20, 2017
Published online: April 21, 2017
Abstract
AIM

To investigate the effects of Hwangryunhaedok-tang (HHT) on gastrointestinal (GI) motility in mice.

METHODS

The effects of a boiling water extract of HHT (HHTE) on GI motility were investigated by calculating percent intestinal transit rates (ITR%) and gastric emptying (GE) values using Evans Blue and phenol red, respectively, in normal mice and in mice with experimentally induced GI motility dysfunction (GMD). In addition, the effects of the four components of HHT, that is, Gardeniae Fructus (GF), Scutellariae Radix (SR), Coptidis Rhizoma (CR), and Phellodendri Cortex (PC), on GI motility were also investigated.

RESULTS

In normal ICR mice, ITR% and GE values were significantly and dose-dependently increased by the intragastric administration of HHTE (0.1-1 g/kg). The ITR% values of GMD mice were significantly lower than those of normal mice, and these reductions were significantly and dose-dependently inhibited by HHTE (0.1-1 g/kg). Additionally, GF, CR, and PC dose-dependently increased ITR% and GE values in normal and GMD mice.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that HHT is a novel candidate for the development of a gastroprokinetic agent for the GI tract.

Keywords: Hwangryunhaedok-tang, Gastrointestinal motility, Intestinal transit rate, Gastric emptying, Gastroprokinetic

Core tip: Hwangryunhaedok-tang, a traditional herbal medicine, has been widely used in Korea for many years to ameliorate gastrointestinal (GI) disorders. Our data suggest that Hwangryunhaedok-tang may be a novel candidate for the development of a gastroprokinetic agent and for the treatment of GI motility dysfunction.