Anti-platelet and anti-thrombotic effect of a traditional herbal medicine Kyung-Ok-Ko

J Ethnopharmacol. 2016 Feb 3:178:172-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2015.11.040. Epub 2015 Dec 4.

Abstract

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Kyung-Ok-Ko (KOK), a traditional herbal prescription, contains six main ingredients; Rehmannia glutinosa var. purpurae, Lycium chinense, Aquillaria agallocha, Poria cocos, Panax ginseng, and honey. KOK has been widely taken as a traditional oriental medicine for improving blood circulation or age-related symptoms, such as dementia and stroke. However, the effect of KOK on platelet activity has not been clarified.

Materials and methods: To evaluate the effect of KOK on platelet function, we evaluated its effect on functional markers of platelet activation such as aggregation and shape change. As a mechanism study for the effect of KOK, we examined its effect on granule secretion, intracellular Ca(2+) increase, and PLCγ and Akt activation. To investigate the effect of orally administered KOK (0.5, 1, 2 g/kg), we examined its ex vivo effect on platelet aggregation in rat, and its in vivo anti-thrombotic effect in mice thromboembolism model. Furthermore, the effect of KOK on bleeding time was examined to estimate its potential side effect.

Results: KOK (0.3, 1, 3, 10 mg/ml) inhibited collagen-induced platelet aggregation and shape change in rat platelets in a concentration-dependent manner. The mechanism for the anti-platelet effect of KOK seems to involve the inhibition of ATP release, intracellular Ca(2+) elevation, and the phosphorylation of PLCγ and Akt. In rat ex vivo study, KOK (2 g/kg, p.o. for 1 day, and 0.5, 1, 2 g/kg, p.o. for 7 days) also had significant inhibitory effects on collagen-induced platelet aggregation. In addition, KOK showed a significant protective effect against thrombosis attack in mice. The prolongation of bleeding time by KOK was much less than that by ASA, suggesting a beneficial potential of KOK than ASA in view of side effect.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that KOK elicits remarkable anti-platelet and anti-thrombotic effects with less side effect of bleeding, and therefore, it may have a therapeutic potential for the prevention of platelet-associated cardiovascular diseases.

Keywords: Anti-platelet; Anti-thrombotic; Bleeding time; Kyung-Ok-Ko; Mechanism; Side effect.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bleeding Time / methods
  • Blood Platelets / drug effects*
  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal / pharmacology*
  • Herbal Medicine / methods
  • Male
  • Medicine, East Asian Traditional / methods
  • Medicine, Traditional / methods
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred ICR
  • Phytotherapy / methods
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology
  • Plants, Medicinal / chemistry*
  • Platelet Aggregation / drug effects*
  • Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Platelet Function Tests / methods
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Thrombosis / drug therapy*

Substances

  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal
  • Plant Extracts
  • Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors
  • kyung-ok-ko