Spasmolytic effect ofAlternanthera repenson isolated rat ileum

Context: Alternanthera repens (L.) Kuntze (Amaranthaceae) is widely used in Mexican traditional medicine for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders that are mainly related to diarrhea.Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the spasmolytic effect of hexane (Hx), methanol (Me) and aqueous (Aq) extracts as well as chromatographic Me fractions (F1–F6) of A. repens in rat ileum.Materials and methods: Dried and powdered aerial parts were used to obtain the extracts. The rat ileum preparations were incubated in Tyrode’s solution gassed (95% O2–5% CO2) at 37 °C. The effect on the contractile response of isolated ileum was evaluated by obtaining cumulative concentration–response curves to CaCl2, KCl, 5-HT and acetylcholine in the absence and presence of different doses of Aq (0.56–2.09 mg/mL), Me (0.24–0.91 mg/mL) and Hx (0.24–0.91 mg/mL) extracts, as well as six Me fractions of 0.66 mg/mL (F1 to F6).Results: The A. repens Me (0.24 mg/mL) caused an inhibitory response of the Ca2+-i...