Mangiferin, a natural xanthone, accelerates gastrointestinal transit in mice involving cholinergic mechanism

Abstract

AIM: To investigate the effects of mangiferin on gas - trointestinal transit (GIT) in normal and constipated mice, together with the possible mechanism. METHODS: Intragastrically-administered charcoal mea was used to measure GIT in overnight starved Swiss mice. In the first experiments, mangiferin (3 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg, 30 mg/kg, and 100 mg/kg, po ) or tegaserod (1 mg/kg, ip ) were administered 30 min before the char - coal meal to study their effects on normal transit. In the second series, mangiferin (30 mg/kg) was tested on delayed GIT induced by several different pharma - cological agonists (morphine, clonidine, capsaicin) or antagonists (ondansetron, verapamil, and atropine) whereas in the third series, mangiferin (30 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg and 300 mg/kg) or tegaserod (1 mg/kg) were tested on 6 h fecal pellets outputted by freely fed mice. The ratio of wet to dry weight was calculated and used as a marker of fecal water content.