title: Dose dependency of earthworm powder on antithrombotic and fibrinolytic effects.
abstract: The freeze-dried powder of Lumbricus rubellus earthworm was administered orally to rats and its fibrinolytic and antithrombotic effects were investigated. The fibrinolytic activity of plasma was determined by measuring the plasmin activity of the euglobulin fraction and was increased to two-folds of the control at a dose of 0.5 g/kg/day and five times with 1 g/kg/day after 4-day administration. The antithrombotic effect was studied in an arterio-venous shunt model of rats. The thrombus weight decreased significantly from 43.2 mg to 32.4 mg at a dose of 0.5 g/kg/day after 8-day treatment. The level of fibrinogen/fibrin degradation product (FDP) in serum was elevated in a dose-dependent manner during the treatment period. On the 8th day after administration, the FDP value was increased to 7.7 micrograms/ml compared with the control value of 3.3 micrograms/ml. These results support that earthworm powder is valuable for the prevention and/or treatment of thrombotic conditions.
authors.affiliation: Natural Products Research Institute, Seoul National University, Korea.
authors.forename: Y S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Pyo
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.forename: K Y
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Yun-Choi
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D001166:Arteriovenous Shunt, Surgical; D001777:Blood Coagulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005338:Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products / Q000032:analysis; D005341:Fibrinolysin / Q000378:metabolism; D005342:Fibrinolysis / Q000187:drug effects; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D009835:Oligochaeta / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012712:Serum Globulins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014020:Tissue Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D005338:Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents; D012712:Serum Globulins; D014020:Tissue Extracts; D005341:Fibrinolysin