Gastroprokinetic effects of DA-9701, a new prokinetic agent formulated with Pharbitis Semen and Corydalis Tuber

To develop a therapeutic for functional dyspepsia (FD), a prokinetic agent, DA-9701 has been newly formulated with Pharbitis Semen and Corydalis Tuber and we evaluated the gastroprokinetic effects of DA-9701 in comparison with conventional prokinetics. Oral administration with DA-9701 not only significantly accelerated gastric emptying in normal rats but also restored the delayed gastric emptying caused by apomorphine and cisplatin up to almost normal levels. For gastrointestinal transit, DA-9701 caused FITC-dextran to travel a significantly longer distance than the control, and in the delayed GI transit models induced by laparotomy and atopine, DA-9701 considerably increased the values of mean geometric center (MGC), while the conventional prokinetics rarely showed significant effects. Furthermore, DA-9701 drastically increased the gastric accommodation in Beagle dogs, shifting the pressure–volume curve toward considerably higher volume compared to the control, which was comparable to that of cisapride. These results indicate that DA-9701 has potential as a safe and effective therapeutic for FD patients with abnormalities in GI motor function.