EFFECT OF BAKUMONDO-TO, A CHINESE-JAPANESE HERBAL MEDICINE, ON CULTURED AND DISPERSED SALIVARY-GLAND CELLS

'Bakumondo-to', a Chinese-Japanese herbal medicine, has been used for patients with xerostomia in Japan. Although the efficacy of this medic ine for xerostomia has been reported, the pharmacological basis was on ly partially understood. The aim of this study was to clarify the dire ct effect of Bakumondo-to on salivary gland cells using isolated and c ultured cells. In the physiological experiment using the fluorescent d ye fura-2, Bakumondo-to showed no direct effect on isolated parotid gl and cells. On the other hand, Bakumondo-to, when applied to cultured s alivary gland cells, showed enhancement effects on cell proliferation. After inspection by transmission electron microscopy, we concluded th at Bakumondo-to did not show an increase in the number of secretion gr anules but did increase the mean size of secretion granules in parotid gland cells. These mechanisms, together with other in vivo effecters, may contribute to clinical efficacy.