Abstract
Artemisia rupestris L. is the perennial herb of rupestris belonging to Artemisia (Compositae), which is wildly distributed in Xinjiang (China), middle Asia, and Europe. It is known to have anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, immune function regulation, and gastrointestinal function regulation effects. AR is used to treat digestive diseases, but the effects of AR on antifunctional dyspepsia (FD) activity have not yet been reported. In this study, we aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of Artemisia rupestris L. extract (ARE) on gastrointestinal hormones and brain-gut peptide in functional dyspepsia (FD) rats. Sixty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 6 groups. An FD rat model was established by irregular tail clamp stimulation for 14 days except the blank group. After FD rat models, the blank group and model group were given menstruum, and the medicated rats were given corresponding medicine for 14 days. The general observations, bodyweight, and food intake were observed, and the content of serum gastrin (GAS), plasma motilin (MTL), plasma vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), and plasma somatostatin (SS) by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was observed. The content of plasma VIP and plasma SS in the ARE group was significantly lower than in the model group, and the content of serum GAS and plasma MTL was increased in the ARE group; the GAS expression of antrum and hypothalamus was increased in the ARE group, and SS expression of antrum and hypothalamus was decreased in the ARE group by immunohistochemical detection; the results of semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) indicate that ARE inhibits the mRNA expression of VIP. Our results suggest that ARE can recover gastrointestinal hormone levels and regulation of the peripheral and central nervous system and alter gut peptide levels, which confirm the therapeutic effect of ARE on functional dyspepsia.
Highlights
Functional dyspepsia (FD), known as nonulcer dyspepsia, involves upper abdominal pain, persistently recurrent episodes of upper abdominal bloating, early satiety, anorexia, nausea, and abdominal discomfort [1]
We aimed to study the pharmacological effects and corresponding changes in gastrointestinal hormones and brain-gut peptides in functional dyspepsia (FD) rats after applying Artemisia rupestris L. extract (ARE), especially the indexes related to FD including routine parameters such as bodyweight, food intake, serum GAS and plasma MTL, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), and SS
Domperidone (Motilium) was purchased from Xian Janssen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., (Beijing, China) under batch number H10910003, and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits detect for rat GAS were purchased from Nanjing Jiancheng Technology Co., Ltd., (Nanjing, China). e ELISA kits used to detect rat MTL, VIP, and SS were purchased from Shanghai Shengke BioTechnology Co., Ltd., (Shanghai, China)
Summary
Functional dyspepsia (FD), known as nonulcer dyspepsia, involves upper abdominal pain, persistently recurrent episodes of upper abdominal bloating, early satiety, anorexia, nausea, and abdominal discomfort [1]. Existing studies have shown that the prevalence of FD ranges from 9.8% to 40% in Western populations and 5.3%–28% in Eastern populations [2]. In the Asian population, the majority of undiagnosed dyspepsia patients without alarm symptoms are diagnosed with functional dyspepsia after gastroscopy [4]. A proportion of 20%–25% of the patients with severe and refractory FD symptoms have psychosocial comorbidities such as anxiety, depression, or somatization and severely impaired daily functioning [5]. FD is a multifactorial disease with a complex underlying pathophysiology, which may be caused by gastrointestinal disorders, gastrointestinal hormone disorders, reduced sensitivity, H. pylori infection, psychological factors, and other symptoms [6]. A large number of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine studies have shown that there is continuous communication between the gastrointestinal tract and the nervous system
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
