Effects of rhubarb on isolated gastric muscle strips of guinea pigs

AIM: To study the effects of rhubarb (dried root of Rheum officinale Baill.) on contractile activity of isolated gastric muscle strips of guinea pigs and its possible mechanism.METHODS: A total of 48 guinea pigs were killed to remove the whole stomach. Then, the stomach was opened and the mucosal layer was removed. Parallel to the circular fibers, muscle strips were cut from the body. Each isolated gastric muscle strip was suspended in a tissue chamber containing 5 mL Krebs solution, constantly warmed by water jacket at 37 ℃ and bubbled continuously with a mixed gas of 950 mL/L O2 and 50 mL/L CO2. After being incubated for 1 h with 1 g tension, rhubarb of varied concentrations (1%, 2%, 7%, 20% and 70%) was added cumulatively into the tissue chamber at intervals of 2 min. Atropine (10-6 mol/L) or isoptin (5×10-8 mol/L) orhexamethonium(10-5 mol/L) was given 2 min before the administration of rhubarb. The isometrical response was measured with an ink-writing recorder.RESULTS: Rhubarb dose dependently increased the resting tension of gastric body circular muscle(CM)(r = 0.726, P＜0.05). Atropine (r= 0.829, P＜0.05), isoptin (r = 0.764,P＜0.05) and hexamethonium (r = 0.797, P＜0.05) did notaffect its action in a dose-related manner. Atropine apparently reduced the increasing action of 1%, 3%, 10%, 30% and 100% rhubarb on the resting tension of gastric body CM. Isoptin inhibited the effect of 10%, 30% and 100% rhubarb on the resting tension of gastric body CM. Hexamethonium reduced the increasing action of 1%, 10%, 30% and 100% rhubarb on the resting tension of gastric body CM. Rhubarb increased the contractile frequency of CM of body. While atropine, isoptin and hexamethonium did not inhibit the contractile frequency of gastric body CM in comparison with rhubarb at the same concentration, rhubarb at the highest concentration (100%) decreased the meancontractile amplitude of gastric body CM. Atropine, isoptin and hexamethonium did not affect the mean contractile amplitude of gastric body CM compared to rhubarb at the same concentration.CONCLUSION: Rhubarb has exciting actions on isolated gastric smooth muscle strips of guinea pig. The exciting action of rhubarb is partly mediated via cholinergic M receptor, cholinergic N receptor and L-type calcium channel.

Effect of rhubarb on contractile response of gallbladder smooth muscle strips isolated from guinea pigs

AIM: To investigate the effect of rhubarb on contractile response of isolated gallbladder muscle strips from guinea pigs and its mechanism.METHODS: Guinea pigs were killed to remove the whole gallbladder. Two or three smooth muscle strips (8 mm×3mm) were cut along the longitudinal direction. The mucosa on each strip was carefully removed. Each longitudinal muscle strip was suspended in a tissue chamber containing 5 mL Krebs solution (37 ℃), bubbled continuously with 950 mL/L O2 and 50 mL/L CO2. The resting tension (g), mean contractile amplitude (mm),and contractile frequency (waves/min) were simultaneously recorded on recorders. After 2-h equilibration, rhubarb (10, 20, 70, 200, 700, 1 000 g/L) was added cumulatively to the tissue chamber in turns every 2 min to observe their effects on gallbladder.Antagonists were given 3 min before administration of rhubarb to investigate the possible mechanism.RESULTS: Rhubarb increased the resting tension (from 0 to 0.40±0.02, P＜0.001), and decreased the mean contractile amplitude (from 5.22±0.71 to 2.73±0.41,P＜0.001). It also increased the contractile frequency of the gallbladder muscle strips in guinea pigs (from 4.09±0.46to 6.08±0.35, P＜0.001). The stimulation of rhubarb on the resting tension decreased from 3.98±0.22 to 1.58±0.12by atropine (P＜0.001), from3.98±0.22 to 2.09±0.19 by verapamil (P＜0.001) and from 3.98±0.22 to 2.67±0.43by phentolamine (P＜0.005). But the effect was not inhibited by hexamethonium (P＞0.05). In addition, the action of mean amplitude and frequency was not inhibited by the above antagonists.CONCLUSION: Rhubarb can stimulate the motility of isolated gallbladder muscle strips from guinea pigs. The stimulation of rhubarb might be relevant with M receptor,Ca2+ channel and α receptor partly.

Action of progesterone on contractile activity of isolated gastric strips in rats

AIM: To study the effect of progesterone on contractile activity of isolated gastric strips in rats.METHODS: Wistar rats were sacrificed to remove whole stomach. Then, the stomach was opened and the mucosal layer was removed. Parellel to either the circular or the longitudial fibers, muscle strips were cut from fundus, body,antrum and pylorus. Each muscle strip was suspended in a tissue chamber containing 5 mL Krebs solution. Then the motility of gastric strips in tissue chambers was simultaneously recorded. The preparations were subjected to 1 g load tension and washed with 5 ml Krebs solution every 20 min. After 1 h equilibration, progesterone or antagonists were added in the tissue chamber separately. The antagonists were added 3 min before using progesterone (50 μmol. L-1).RESULTS: Progesterone decreased the resting tension of fundus and body longitudinal muscle (LM) (P＜0.05). It inhibited the mean contractile amplitude of body and antrum LM and circular muscle (CM), and the motility index of pyloric CM (P＜0.05). The inhibition of progesterone on the mean contractile amplitude could be partially blocked by phentolamine in LM of the stomach body (the mean contractile amplitude of body LM decreased from -7.5±5.5to -5.2±4.5 P＜0.01), and by phentolamine or indomethacin in CM of body (The inhibition of progesterone on the mean contractile amplitude of body CM decreased from -5.6±3.0to -3.6±2.7 by phentolamine and from -5.6±3.0 to -3.5±2.5by indomethacin, P＜0.01). Hexamethonium, propranolol and L-NNA (inhibitor of NO synthetase) didn′t affect the action of progesterone (P＞0.05).CONCLUSION: The study suggested that progesterone can inhibit the contractile activity of isolated gastric strips in rats and the mechanism seems to be a direct one except that the action on gastric body is mediated through prostaglandin and adrenergic α receptor partly.