An orientational examination of the effects of extracts from mixtures of herbal drugs on selected renal functions

Overview

The paper aimed to determine the effects of mixtures of selected medicinal plants on some physiological renal functions, i.e. excretion of urine and electrolytes and changes in the quantity of prostaglandins E₂ (PGE₂) and kallikrein-kinins in rat blood plasma after water and salt load. The following medicinal plants were selected for the examination: downy birch (Betula pubescens EHRH.), everlasting flower (Helichrysum arenarium L. MOENCH.), hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacantha L.), woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca L.), sweet corn (Zea mays L.), German chamomile (Matricaria recutita L.), and field horsetail (Equisetum arvense L.). Herbal drugs were used to compose 6 mixtures. Extracts from these mixtures were administered to Wistar strain males and their effects were compared with the effects of an administered suspension of hydrochlorothiazide, an extract from field horsetail herb alone, and a control group of animals which was not administered any preparation. The greatest diuretic effect was found in a mixture composed of birch leaves (Betulae folium), hawthorn berries (Crataegi fructus), strawberry leaves (Fragariae folium), corn silk (Maydis stigmata), chamomile flowers (Matricariae flos), and horsetail herb (Equiseti herba). Its effect was greater by 47 % and 34 % than the effect of a horsetail herb extract and a hydrochlorothiazide suspension (p<0.05), respectively. The extract from this mixture also increased the quantity of prostaglandins E₂ and kallikrein-kinins in rat blood plasma in water and salt load.

Key words:
mixture of herbal drugs – renal function – diuresis – electrolytes