Effect of the aqueous extract of xiao-ban-xia-tang on gastric emptying in mice.

Gastric emptying effect of the aqueous extract of Xiao-Ban-Xia-Tang (XBXT) was investigated in mice. Mice with food deprived for 18 hours were orally administered a certain amount of test meal (ca. 0.8 g) equaling 0.8 ml in volume. The percentage of 0.8 g test meal remaining in the stomach after 20 minutes was estimated. It was shown that XBXT significantly antagonized dopamine- (0.56 mg/kg, i.p.), not atropine- (0.3 mg/kg, i.p.), induced gastric emptying inhibition. It also significantly restored metoclopramide-induced (8 mg/kg, p.o.) propulsion and potentiated methylneostigmine-induced (2 mg/kg, p.o.) gastric emptying enhancement. The aqueous extract of Pinellia ternata, but not that of Zingiber officinale showed an inhibitory activity on gastric emptying. The present results suggest that XBXT possesses a regulative effect on gastric motility.