Abstract
(E)-4-(3′,4′-Dimethoxyphenyl)-but-3-en-1-ol, compound D, was present in significant amounts in the hexane extract of Zingiber cassumunar Roxb. (Zingibereceae). It exhibited a dose related uterine relaxant effect when tested in the rat uterus (non-pregnant), in situ experiment. The uterine response of pregnant rats varied with the stage of pregnancy, and the uterus of the post-implantation period was found to be the most sensitive. From a comparison of the dose-response regression lines of compound D and reference drugs obtained from isolated rat uterus experiment, the potency of compound D was lower than that of isoproterenol and papaverine, but higher than that of aminophylline. The uterine relaxant effect of compound D was not blocked by the preadministration of propranolol and the dose-response regression line of compound D paralleled only that of papaverine. The findings suggest that compound D does not act via β-adrenergic receptor stimulation, and that compound D might share with papaverine a similar mechanism of action.
