A Chinese herbal medicine Ermiao wan reduces serum uric acid level and inhibits liver xanthine dehydrogenase and xanthine oxidase in mice

• Published in: Journal of ethnopharmacology Vol. 93; no. 2; pp. 325 - 330
• Main Authors: Kong, Ling Dong, Yang, Chen, Ge, Fei, Wang, Hai Dong, Guo, Yu Song
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01-08-2004; Elsevier
• Subjects: Administration, Oral; Animals; Atractylodis rhizome; Biological and medical sciences; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drugs, Chinese Herbal - administration & dosage; Drugs, Chinese Herbal - pharmacology; Drugs, Chinese Herbal - therapeutic use; Enzyme Inhibitors - administration & dosage; Enzyme Inhibitors - pharmacology; Enzyme Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Ermiao wan; General pharmacology; Hyperuricemia; Hyperuricemia - prevention & control; Hypouricemic effect; Liver - drug effects; Liver - enzymology; Male; Medical sciences; Mice; Mice, Inbred ICR; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Phellodendri cortex; Phytotherapy; Plant Bark; Plant Extracts - administration & dosage; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Plant Extracts - therapeutic use; Plants, Medicinal; Rhizome; Uric Acid - blood; Xanthine dehydrogenase; Xanthine Dehydrogenase - antagonists & inhibitors; Xanthine oxidase; Xanthine Oxidase - antagonists & inhibitors; Phellodendri cortex; Hyperuricemia; Hypouricemic effect; Xanthine dehydrogenase; Xanthine oxidase; Atractylodis rhizome; Ermiao wan; Biological fluid; Liver; Enzymopathy; Medicinal plant; Chinese medicine; Folk medicine; Rhizome; Serum; Phytotherapy; Hypouricemic agent; Atractylodes lancea; Digestive system; Enzyme; Pharmacognosy; Rodentia; Phellodendron chinense; Metabolic diseases; Uric acid; Biological activity; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Treatment; Mouse; Animal; Plant origin; Oxidoreductases
• ISSN: 0378-8741; 1872-7573
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2004.04.008

Ermiao wan, which is composed of phellodendri cortex and atractylodis rhizome, is described as eliminating heat, excreting dampness and anti-edema prescription in traditional Chinese medical literatures including Danxi’s Experiences in Medicine and State Pharmacopoeia of People’s Republic of China. So it is being used clinically in the treatment of gout and hyperuricemia in China. In the present study, the water extracts of Ermiao wan and phellodendri cortex at 840 and 480
mg/kg/day orally for 7 days were demonstrated to possess in vivo potent hypouricemic effects both in hyperuricemic mice pretreated with oxonate and in normal mice, respectively. In the hyperuricemic animals, the effect of Ermiao wan was equal to that of the reference drug allopurinol (at 10
mg/kg/day orally for 7 days), but in the normal mice, the former was weaker than latter. In addition, both Ermiao wan and phellodendri cortex were found to have in vivo relatively inhibitory effects on mouse liver xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) and xanthine oxidase (XO) activities at the same dose described above. These inhibitory effects were weaker than that observed for allopurinol. Atractylodis rhizome at 340
mg/kg/day orally for 7 days did not show any effects on the above experiments. These results suggested that atractylodis rhizomes assisted and enhanced the effect of phellodendri cortex on reduction of serum uric acid level in hyperuricemic mice, and hypouricemic effects of Ermiao wan and phellodendri cortex may be achieved by other mechanism partly instead of the XDH and XO inhibition.