Laxative effects of agarwood on low-fiber diet-induced constipation in rats.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Agarwood (Aquilaria sinensis), well known as incense in Southeast Asia, has been used as a digestive in traditional medicine. We investigated the laxative effects of an ethanol extract of agarwood leaves (EEA) in a rat model of low-fiber diet-induced constipation.

METHODS:

A set of rats was bred on a normal diet while another set was placed on a low-fiber diet to induce constipation. The laxative effect of agarwood was then investigated on both sets of rats.

RESULTS:

Pretreatment of normal rats with single dose of EEA (600 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly increased frequency and weight of stools. Also, treatments with EEA (300 and 600 mg/kg, p.o.) for 14 days caused a significant increase in stool frequency and weight. Feeding of the animals with a low-fiber diet resulted in a decrease in stool weight, frequency, and water content and also delayed carmine egestion. A single treatment with EEA (600 mg/kg) or senna (150 and 300 mg/kg) significantly increased stool frequency, weight, and water content and also accelerated carmine egestion in the model rats. Once daily administrations of EEA (150 mg/kg), for 14 days, caused a significant increase in water content of stools. The higher doses of EEA (300 and 600 mg/kg) significantly increased frequency, weight, and water content of the stools while accelerating carmine egestion in the constipated rats. Senna (150 and 300 mg/kg) produced similar effect as the higher doses of EEA but, in addition, induced severe diarrhea.

CONCLUSION:

These findings indicate that EEA has a laxative effect, without causing diarrhea, in a rat model of low-fiber diet-induced constipation. These findings suggest that EEA may be highly effective on constipation as a complementary medicine in humans suffering from life style-induced constipation.

• Authors: Mamoru Kakino, Shigemi Tazawa, Hiroe Maruyama, Kazuhiro Tsuruma, Yoko Araki, Masamitsu Shimazawa, Hideaki Hara
• Journal: BMC complementary and alternative medicine (BMC Complement Altern Med) Vol. 10 Pg. 68 (Nov 15 2010) ISSN: 1472-6882 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 21078136 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Dietary Fiber
• Laxatives
• Plant Extracts
• Water
• Carmine

Topics

• Animals
• Carmine (analysis)
• Constipation (drug therapy, etiology)
• Defecation (drug effects)
• Diarrhea
• Diet
• Dietary Fiber (administration & dosage)
• Disease Models, Animal
• Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
• Feces (chemistry)
• Laxatives (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Male
• Plant Extracts (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Plant Leaves
• Rats
• Rats, Sprague-Dawley
• Senna Plant
• Thymelaeaceae
• Water (analysis)