title: Spasmolytic effect of Mentha pulegium L. involves ionic flux regulation in rat ileum strips.
abstract: Mentha pulegium is common known as "poleo" and used for the treatment of diarrhea, headache and cough in Mexican traditional medicine. Organic extracts from aerial parts were evaluated to determine their spasmolytic action on rat isolated ileum test. Hexanic (HEMp), dichloromethanic (DEMp) and methanolic (MEMp) extracts induced a concentration-dependent (0.97 to 1000 microg/mL) antispasmodic effect on spontaneous contractions. DEMp was the most active extract; therefore, spasmolytic mechanism was investigated. This extract (200 microg/mL) induced a significant depression on cumulative concentration-response curve for carbachol and serotonin (P<0.05). Besides, extract decreased and shifted to the right KCl- and CaCl2-induced contraction curves. Moreover, pre-incubation with chlorpromazine (0.001 mM) shifted to the left the relaxant curve. Pre-treatment with L-NAME (1 mM), papaverine (0.01 mM), teophylline (0.01 mM), TEA (1 mM) and glybenclamide (0.1 mM) did not produced any changed of the relaxant curves of DEMp. Findings indicate that dichloromethanic extract of M. pulegium induced its spasmolytic effect through Ca2+-influx blockade, which may explain its traditional use against diarrhea.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, México. enoch@uaem.mx
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Estrada-Soto
authors.forename: Dalia
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: González-Maldonado
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Castillo-España
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Aguirre-Crespo
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Salgado
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D007082:Ileum / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D031335:Mentha pulegium; D008800:Mexico; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester / Q000494:pharmacology; D010276:Parasympatholytics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D010276:Parasympatholytics; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester