Effect of oral administration of Pinellia ternata, Zingiberis rhizoma and their mixture on the efferent activity of the gastric branch of the vagus nerve in the rat

The effect of taste stimulation of Pinellia ternata, Zingiberis rhizoma and their mixture on the efferent activity of the gastric branch of the vagus nerve was observed in the anesthetized rat. Taste stimulation by Pinellia ternata (50 mg/ml, 10 min) resulted in a suppression in vagal gastric nerve activity. On the contrary, stimulation by Zingiberis rhizoma (50 mg/ml, 10 min) caused a facilitation in efferent activity. The mixture of Pinellia ternata and Zingiberis rhizoma (5:1, 50 mg/ml, 10 min stimulation) demonstrated no suppressive effect on gastric nerve activity. These observations indicate that it is reasonable to prescribe Pinellia temata with Zingiberis rhizoma in traditional Japanese medicine to prevent suppressive effect of the taste of Pinellia ternata on gastric function. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.