Abstract
Rhizomes of five identified plants of the Paris species, Liliaceae, and Rhizoma Paridis which are sold as a crude drug named “Zao Xiu”, “Qiyeyizhihua” or other names in nine different markets in China were tested for their effects on cultured cardiomyocytes. In the standard medium, eight methanol extracts out of sixteen at a concentration of 0.2 mg/ml stopped the spontaneous beating of myocardial cell sheets, but these extracts significantly increased the beating rate when the concentration was reduced to one half. In the culture medium with a low calcium concentration, 0.5 mM, the beating rate of the cells decreased to about 60% of that of the control in the standard medium. The addition of five of the extracts to the low calcium medium at a concentration of 0.1 mg/ml caused a stop of cell beating, but the other extracts increased beating rate at least by 10%. Three steroidal glycosides isolated from the rhizomes of P. vietnamensis (Takht.) H. Li also stimulated cell beating. Among them, diosgenin-3-O -α-L -rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2) - (α-L -arabinofuranosyl-(1→4))-D -glucopranoside (compound 1 ) was the most effective stimulant for cell beating as well as calcium uptake by the myocardial cells.
