Biomol Ther.  2015 Jul;23(4):350-356. 10.4062/biomolther.2015.035.

The Pharmacological Effects of Benachio-F(R) on Rat Gastrointestinal Functions

• Poudel BK
• Yu JY
• Kwon YS
• Park HG
• Son M
• Jun JH
• Kim JA
• Kim JO

• KMID: 2382365
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4062/biomolther.2015.035

Abstract

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a prevalent idiopathic upper gastrointestinal (GI) disorder characterized by diverse symptomatology including epigastric pain or discomfort, postprandial fullness, and early satiety. Although its pathophysiological mechanisms have not yet been fully established, the available studies suggest that the etiology of FD is invariably multifactorial. Benachio-F(R) (BF) is a proprietary liquid formulation of 7 herbal extracts that has been proposed to address this multifactorial etiology using multi-drug phytotherapy. The pharmacological effects of BF, in comparison with those of two other herbal products (Whalmyungsu(R); WM and Iberogast(R); IB) were evaluated in rats. In a laparotomy-induced rat model of delayed GI transit, BF significantly accelerated the delayed gastric emptying caused by morphine, apomorphine, and cisplatin, and also significantly increased mean gastric transit, as compared to the control animals. BF markedly increased gastric accommodation in rats and produced higher gastric volume values than did the control treatment. The effects of BF were generally comparable or superior to those of WM and IB in these models. Furthermore, BF significantly stimulated biliary flow, as compared to the control treatment. These results indicated that BF might have great potential as an effective phytotherapeutic agent capable of reducing GI symptoms and increasing quality of life in FD patients.

Keyword

Functional dyspepsia; Benachio-F(R); Gastric emptying; Gastric accommodation; Gastric transit; Bile secretion

MeSH Terms

Animals
Apomorphine
Cisplatin
Dyspepsia
Gastric Emptying
Humans
Models, Animal
Morphine
Phytotherapy
Quality of Life
Rats*
Apomorphine
Cisplatin
Morphine