Gastroprotective effect of a traditional Chinese herbal drug “Baishouwu” on experimental gastric lesions in rats

“Baishouwu” is an appellative name of dried root tubers from three Asclepiadaceae plants: Cynanchum auriculatum Royle ex Wight, Cynanchum bungei Decne and Cynoctonum wilfordii Maxim. In order to establish the pharmacological basis for the ethnomedicinal use of Baishouwu in gastric disorders, this study examined the effects of ethanol extracts and fractions from root tubers of Cynanchum auriculatum, Cynanchum bungei and Cynoctonum wilfordii on ethanol-, indomethacin-induced gastric lesions and histamine-induced gastric acid secretion in rats. Plant materials were collected from various areas of China. Oral administration of ethanol extract and chloroform fraction of Cynoctonum wilfordii collected from Changbai Cordillera at doses of 150 and 68 mg/kg, respectively, significantly inhibited the development of ethanol- and indomethacin-induced gastric lesions and also caused significant decrease of gastric acid secretion after histamine-induced gastric lesion. Oral administrations of ethanol extract and chloroform fraction of Cynanchum auriculatum collected from Binhai at the doses of 300 and 69 mg/kg, respectively, significantly inhibited ethanol- and indomethacin-induced gastric lesions. This study demonstrates the gastroprotective property of Baishouwu for the first time.