title: Elenoside increases intestinal motility.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the effects of elenoside, an arylnaph-thalene lignan from Justicia hyssopifolia, on gastro-intestinal motility in vivo and in vitro in rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Routine in vivo experimental assessments were catharsis index, water percentage of boluses, intestinal transit, and codeine antagonism. The groups included were vehicle control (propylene glycol-ethanol-plant oil-tween 80), elenoside (i.p. 25 and 50 mg/kg), cisapride (i.p. 10 mg/kg), and codeine phosphate (intragastric route, 50 mg/kg). In vitro approaches used isolated rat intestinal tissues (duodenum, jejunum, and ileum). The effects of elenoside at concentrations of 3.2 x 10(-4), 6.4 x 10(-4) and 1.2 x 10(-3) mol/L, and cisapride at 10(-6) mol/L were investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Elenoside in vivo produced an increase in the catharsis index and water percentage of boluses and in the percentage of distance traveled by a suspension of activated charcoal. Codeine phosphate antagonized the effect of 25 mg/kg of elenoside. In vitro, elenoside in duodenum, jejunum and ileum produced an initial decrease in the contraction force followed by an increase. Elenoside resulted in decreased intestinal frequency in duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. The in vitro and in vivo effects of elenoside were similar to those produced by cisapride.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Elenoside is a lignan with an action similar to that of purgative and prokinetics drugs. Elenoside, could be an alternative to cisapride in treatment of gastrointestinal diseases as well as a preventive therapy for the undesirable gastrointestinal effects produced by opioids used for mild to moderate pain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of La Laguna, 38071 La Laguna, Apdo. 55, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. enavarro@ull.es
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Navarro
authors.forename: S-J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Alonso
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Navarro
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Trujillo
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jorge
mesh_terms: D027901:Acanthaceae / Q000737:chemistry; D000818:Animals; D003061:Codeine / Q000494:pharmacology; D005769:Gastrointestinal Motility / Q000187:drug effects*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D017705:Lignans / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017705:Lignans; C428195:elenoside; D014867:Water; D003061:Codeine