title: A New Strategy Using Rikkunshito to Treat Anorexia and Gastrointestinal Dysfunction.
abstract: Because the clinical condition of gastrointestinal dysfunction, including functional dyspepsia, involves tangled combinations of pathologies, there are some cases of insufficient curative efficacy. Thus, traditional herbal medicines (Kampo medicines) uniquely developed in Japan are thought to contribute to medical treatment for upper gastrointestinal symptoms. Rikkunshito is a Kampo medicine often used to treat dyspeptic symptoms. Over the past few years, several studies have investigated the efficacy of rikkunshito for dysmotility, for example, upper abdominal complaints, in animals and humans. Rikkunshito ameliorated the decrease in gastric motility and anorexia in cisplatin-treated rats, stress-loaded mice, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor-treated rats by enhancing plasma ghrelin levels via serotonin2B/2C receptor antagonism. In addition, rikkunshito ameliorated the decrease in food intake in aged mice and stress-loaded decreased gastric motility via enhanced ghrelin receptor signaling. Several clinical studies revealed that rikkunshito was effective in ameliorating upper gastrointestinal symptoms, including dyspepsia, epigastric pain, and postprandial fullness. In this review, we discuss these studies and propose additional evidence-based research that may promote the clinical use of Kampo medicines, particularly rikkunshito, for treating anorexia and gastrointestinal dysfunction.
authors.affiliation: Tsumura Research Laboratories, Tsumura & Co., 3586 Yoshiwara, Ami-machi, Inashiki-gun, Ibaraki 300-1192, Japan.
authors.forename: Yayoi
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4801-6429
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Saegusa
authors.affiliation: Tsumura Research Laboratories, Tsumura & Co., 3586 Yoshiwara, Ami-machi, Inashiki-gun, Ibaraki 300-1192, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomohisa
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6631-8463
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hattori
authors.affiliation: Tsumura Research Laboratories, Tsumura & Co., 3586 Yoshiwara, Ami-machi, Inashiki-gun, Ibaraki 300-1192, Japan.
authors.forename: Miwa
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4462-6887
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nahata
authors.affiliation: Tsumura Research Laboratories, Tsumura & Co., 3586 Yoshiwara, Ami-machi, Inashiki-gun, Ibaraki 300-1192, Japan.
authors.forename: Chihiro
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3690-893X
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.affiliation: Pathophysiology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0812, Japan ; Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8638, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7672-4687
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takeda