The antitussive activity of polysaccharides from Althaea officinalis l., var. Robusta, Arctium lappa L., var. Herkules, and Prunus persica L., Batsch.
BACKGROUND
The therapy of pathological type of cough presents serious medical problem.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of experiments was to investigate polysaccacharide influence on experimentally induced cough.


METHODS
The purified and/or modified polysaccharides from the flowers and plants, characterized by chemical composition and molecular properties were subjected to tests for antitussive activity on cough, induced mechanically in conscious cats of both sexes.


RESULTS
The results revealed that the tested polysaccharides exhibited statistically significant cough-suppressing activity, which was noticeably higher than that of the non-narcotic drug used in clinical practice to treat coughing. The most expressive antitussive activity was observed with the polysaccharide from marsh mallow, containing the highest proportion of the uronic acid constituent. Negative influence of the tested compounds on expectoration was negligible when compared to that of codeine.


CONCLUSIONS
Antitussive activity of various plant polysaccharides was confirmed. These results allow ranging them among prospective antitussive agents (Tab. 2, Fig. 6, Ref. 15) Full Text (Free, PDF) www.bmj.sk.
Department of Pharmacology, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, 037 53 Martin, Slovakia. sutovska@jfmed.uniba.sk
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D031583:Althaea; D000818:Animals; D000996:Antitussive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D031170:Arctium; D002415:Cats; D003371:Cough / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D027861:Prunus
D000996:Antitussive Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts; D011134:Polysaccharides