BACKGROUND Euphorbia hirta (Linn) family Euphorbiaceae has been used in indigenous system of medicine for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. This study was designed to determine the pharmacological basis for the medicinal use of E. hirta in diarrhea and constipation. METHODS The aqueous-methanol extract of whole herb of E. hirta (EH.Cr) and its petroleum ether (Pet.EH), chloroform (CHCl3.EH), ethyl acetate (Et.Ac.EH) and aqueous (Aq.EH) fractions were tested in the in-vivo experiments using Balb/c mice, while the in-vitro studies were performed on isolated jejunum and ileum preparations of locally bred rabbit and Sprague Dawley rats, respectively, using PowerLab data system. RESULTS Qualitative phytochemical analysis showed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, tannins, phenols, cardiac glycosides, while HPLC of EH.Cr showed quercetin in high proportion. In mice, EH.Cr at the dose of 500 and 1000 mg/kg showed 41 and 70% protection from castor oil-induced diarrhea, respectively, similar to the effect of quercetin and loperamide, while at lower doses (50 and 100 mg/kg), it caused an increase in the fecal output. In loperamide-induced constipated mice, EH.Cr also displayed laxative effect with respective values of 28.6 and 35.3% at 50 and 100 mg/kg. In rabbit jejunum, EH.Cr showed atropine-sensitive inhibitory effect in a concentration-dependent manner, while quercetin and nifedipine exhibited atropine-insensitive effects. Fractions of E. hirta also produced atropine-sensitive inhibitory effects except Pet.EH and CHCl3.EH. On high (80 mM) and low (20 mM) K+ - induced contractions, the crude extract and fractions exhibited a concentration-dependent non-specific inhibition of both spasmogens and displaced concentration-response curves of Ca++ to the right with suppression of the maximum effect similar to the effect quercetin and nifedipine. Fractions showed wide distribution of spasmolytic and Ca++ antagonist like effects. In rat ileum, EH.Cr and its fractions exhibited atropine-sensitive gut stimulant effects except Pet.EH. CONCLUSION The crude extract of E. hirta possesses antidiarrheal effect possibly mediated through Ca++ antagonist like gut inhibitory constituents, while its laxative effect was mediated primarily through muscarinic receptor agonist like gut stimulant constituents. Thus, these findings provide an evidence to the folkloric use of E. hirta in diarrhea and constipation.

中文翻译：

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大戟科大戟科在腹泻和便秘中的使用涉及钙拮抗作用和胆碱能机制。

背景技术大戟（Euphorbia hirta）（Linn）家族的大戟科已被用于治疗胃肠道疾病的本地医学系统中。本研究旨在确定平肠埃希菌用于腹泻和便秘的药理基础。方法陆地棉全草的水甲醇提取物（EH.Cr）及其石油醚（Pet.EH），氯仿（CHCl3.EH），乙酸乙酯（Et.Ac.EH）和水（Aq.EH ）级分在使用Balb / c小鼠的体内实验中进行了测试，而体外研究则分别使用PowerLab数据系统对本地繁殖的兔子和Sprague Dawley大鼠的分离的空肠和回肠制剂进行了研究。结果定性植物化学分析显示，存在生物碱，皂角苷，类黄酮，丹宁酸，酚，强心苷，而EH HPLC。Cr显示槲皮素比例很高。在小鼠中，EH.Cr分别以500和1000 mg / kg的剂量显示出对蓖麻油引起的腹泻的保护作用分别为41％和70％，类似于槲皮素和洛哌丁胺的作用，而在较低剂量下（50和100 mg / kg kg），导致粪便产量增加。在洛哌丁胺诱导的便秘小鼠中，EH.Cr还表现出通便作用，在50和100 mg / kg时分别为28.6和35.3％。在兔空肠中，EH.Cr以浓度依赖的方式显示出对阿托品敏感的抑制作用，而槲皮素和硝苯地平则显示出对阿托品不敏感的作用。除Pet.EH和CHCl3.EH外，E。hirta的级分还产生了对阿托品敏感的抑制作用。在高（80 mM）和低（20 mM）K +诱导的收缩中，粗提物和馏分对痉挛和Ca ++的位移浓度响应曲线均表现出浓度依赖性的非特异性抑制作用，而Ca ++的置换反应曲线则向右移动，并具有与槲皮素和硝苯地平相似的最大抑制作用。级分显示痉挛和Ca ++拮抗剂样作用的广泛分布。在大鼠回肠中，除Pet.EH外，EH.Cr及其馏分均表现出对阿托品敏感的肠道刺激作用。结论大肠埃希菌的粗提物具有止泻作用，可能是通过Ca ++拮抗剂（如肠道抑制成分）介导的，而其通便作用主要是通过毒蕈碱受体激动剂（如肠道刺激成分）介导的。因此，这些发现为民用大肠杆菌在腹泻和便秘中提供了证据。