S. Harima et al., STUDY OF VARIOUS RHUBARBS REGARDING THE CATHARTIC EFFECT AND ENDOTOXIN-INDUCED DISSEMINATED INTRAVASCULAR COAGULATION, Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin, 17(11), 1994, pp. 1522-1525
Sennoside A content in hot-water extracts from 17 varieties of rhubarb
obtained from the market was measured, and their respective cathartic
effects were also examined in mice. A positive correlation was confir
med between the sennoside A content and cathartic effects in our exper
iments. Furthermore, the effects of Shisendaio (e9j117t), with a highe
r sennoside A content, and Kinmondaio (iF-), with a lower sennoside A
content, exhibited endotoxin-induced disseminated intravascular coagul
ation (DIC) which related closely to Oketsu symptoms, and these effect
s were examined in rats. Kinmondaio exhibited weak inhibition on both
reducing erythrocyte deformability and prolonging euglobulin lysis tim
e (ELT) in DIC rats. From our results, it is possible to evaluate rhub
arb's cathartic effect, one of its main drug effects, by examining the
rhubarb's sennoside A content. However, it is difficult to estimate t
he cathartic effect according to the general market name of Rhubarb. N
o dramatic effect was found on the experimental models used for Oketsu
symptoms such as endotoxin-induced DIC.