Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 28, 2015; 21(4): 1117-1124
Published online Jan 28, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i4.1117
Effects of traditional Chinese herbal medicine San-Huang-Xie-Xin-Tang on gastrointestinal motility in mice
Min Woo Hwang, Tae Seok Ahn, Noo Ri Hong, Han-Sol Jeong, Myeong Ho Jung, Ki-Tae Ha, Byung Joo Kim
Min Woo Hwang, Department of Sasang Constitutional Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, South Korea
Tae Seok Ahn, Noo Ri Hong, Han-Sol Jeong, Myeong Ho Jung, Ki-Tae Ha, Byung Joo Kim, School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University, Yangsan 626-870, South Korea
Author contributions: Kim BJ designed the study; Hwang MW, Ahn TS and Hong NR performed the experiments; Ahn TS, Jeong H, Jung MH and Ha K analyzed the data; Hwang MW and Kim BJ wrote the paper.
Supported by National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean government, No. 2014R1A5A2009936.
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, School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University, Beomeori, Mulgeum-eup, Gyeongsangnamdo, Yangsan 626-870, South Korea. vision@pusan.ac.kr
Telephone: +82-51-5108469 Fax: +82-51-5108420
Received: June 24, 2014
Peer-review started: June 25, 2014
First decision: July 21, 2014
Revised: August 5, 2014
Accepted: September 29, 2014
Article in press: September 30, 2014
Published online: January 28, 2015
Processing time: 217 Days and 6.5 Hours
Abstract

AIM: To investigate the effects of San-Huang-Xie-Xin-Tang (SHXXT), a herbal product used in traditional Chinese medicine, on gastrointestinal (GI) motility in mice.

METHODS: The in vivo effects of SHXXT on GI motility were investigated by measuring the intestinal transit rates (ITRs) using Evans blue in normal mice and in mice with experimentally induced GI motility dysfunction (GMD).

RESULTS: In normal ICR mice, ITRs were significantly and dose-dependently increased by SHXXT (0.1-1 g/kg). GMD was induced by injecting acetic acid or streptozotocin intraperitoneally. The ITRs of GMD mice were significantly reduced compared to normal mice, and these reductions were significantly and dose-dependently inhibited by SHXXT (0.1-1 g/kg).

CONCLUSION: These results suggest that SHXXT is a novel candidate for the development of a prokinetic agent that may prevent or alleviate GMD.

Keywords: Gastrointestinal disorders; San-Huang-Xie-Xin-Tang; Motility; Gastrointestinal tract; Intestinal transit rate

Core tip: San-Huang-Xie-Xin-Tang (SHXXT), a traditional Chinese medicinal formula, is widely used in Eastern Asia, particularly to ameliorate the symptoms of gastrointestinal (GI) disorders. Our data suggest that SHXXT is a novel candidate for the development of a prokinetic agent that may prevent or alleviate GI motility dysfunctions in humans. Considering the effects of this drug on GI motility, further research is required to identify the compounds responsible for the effects of SHXXT and to determine their mechanisms of action.