the effect of ginger hydroalcholic extract on rat ileal contraction in vitro

Background: ginger is a medicinal plant with wide use around the world which has several therapeutic implications especially in gastrointestinal discomfort such as dyspepsia, flatulence, colic, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. objectives: therefore, given the widespread use of ginger for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, in the present study we have investigated the effect of this herbal medicine and underlying mechanism on pre-contracted rat ileum segments. materials and methods: in this experimental study, 40 male rat divided to 5 groups (n = 8 in each group) randomly. groups were consisting: ginger alone, kcl + ginger, carbachol + ginger, pretreated with l-name and kcl + ginger, pretreated with verapamil and kcl + ginger. to investigate the mechanism underlying relaxation induced by ginger extract on rat ileum, isolated rat ileum segmentswerepre-contractedbykcl 120molor carbachol 100molandthen relaxation response inducedbyginger hydroalcholic extracts (with 100 or 200 µg/ml of organ bath) was studied in the presence of verapamil (a calcium channel blocker agents) and l-name (a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor). results: non-cumulative concentrations of ginger extract (100 and 200 µg/ml) was able to decrease contractile responses to kcl (120 µmol/ml of organ bath) and carbachol (100 µmol/ml of organ bath) in a dose dependent manner (p < 0.05). incubation of tissue with l-name (300 µmol/ml) was not able to reduce the relaxation response; however incubation with verapamil inhibited the relaxation response induced by ginger extract. conclusions: the relaxation response induced by ginger extract in the present study was not mediated by nitric oxide. however calcium channel may contribute to relaxation response.