In vitro evaluation of the effect of Bidens tripartita extract and its main constituents on the intestine contractility

Gastrointestinal (GI) motility disorders include a wide array of signs and symptoms that can occur anywhere throughout the luminal gastrointestinal tract. Motility disorders are often chronic in nature and dramatically affect patients’ quality of life. Due to the complex and sometimes unclear etiology of GI diseases, there is grand requirement of new drugs which could bring significant relief and control the severity of clinical symptoms. Thus, the aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of Bidens tripartita (Asteraceae) methanolic extract and its main constituents: luteolin (LUT), cynaroside (CYN) and flavanomarein (FLA) on the contractility intestinal smooth muscle specimens. The study was performed on porcine isolated jejunum strips. All experiments were conducted under isometric conditions. The extract was tested at concentrations ranging 0.001 to 0.1 mg/mL, individual phytoconstituents at doses 0.001 to 100 µM. The obtained results revealed that all tested samples induced increased gut contractility in both - spontaneous motoric function and ACh-induced reactivity. Among all tested substances, CYN turned out to be the most potent contractile agent and its prokinetic effect was dose-dependent. FLA and LUT induced only a slight myocontractile effect. Concluding, on the weight of these findings in the porcine model, B. tripartita is unlikely to be successful as a therapeutic agent for diarrhea-inducing gastrointestinal disorders but it may find an application as a pro-kinetic agent for gastrointestinal disorders accompanied by diminished motility or atony.

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