Rhei Radix et Rhizoma, as a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely applied in clinic. Its major purgative constituent is anthraquinones, which are believed to be a toxic ingredient. Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma has been reputed as the best alexipharmic to moderate medicine natures. In this paper, the effect of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma in relieving purgative activity of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma was studied in two aspects--the boiling process and intestinal metabolism; Studies on combined administration of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and Rhei Radix et Rhizoma in recent years were summarized according to chemical constituent, intestinal flora, I/II phase metabolism and drug transport. However, the material basis and mechanism for their compatibility remain unclear, further studies will be made in the future.
Animals ; Cathartics ; adverse effects ; analysis ; pharmacology ; Chemistry, Pharmaceutical ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; adverse effects ; analysis ; pharmacology ; Glycyrrhiza ; chemistry ; Humans ; Rheum ; adverse effects ; chemistry ; Rhizome ; chemistry

BACKGROUND/AIMS: There are no studies that looked into the bubble eliminating efficacy of polyethylene glycol with ascorbic acid (PEGA), which has been one of the shortcomings of polyethylene glycol (PEG). In this study, we compared newly introduced PEGA regimen by adding either simethicone or 1 L of water. METHODS: A prospective randomized controlled study was carried out at Dongguk Universtiy Gyeongju Hospital from July 2014 to September 2014. A total of 90 patients were randomly assigned to 3 groups; PEGA group (n=30) which served as control, simethicone addition group (n=30) to which simethicone 400 mg was additionally prescribed, and water addition group (n=30) to whom additional 1 L of water was given. Cleansing effectiveness, gas elimination efficacy, side effects, and patient satisfaction were compared between the groups. RESULTS: PEGA group demonstrated the highest cleansing effectiveness, but there was no statistically significant difference among the groups. Simethicone addition group showed significantly lesser amount of bubbles than the other groups (2.57±2.05 vs. 1.10±1.83 vs. 2.60±2.84, p=0.017). The rates of side effects in each group were 20.00% vs. 16.77% vs. 53.33%. Water addition group had significantly more side effects than the PEGA group and the simethicone addition group (p=0.003). The patient satisfaction score of each group was 3.37±0.85 vs. 3.73±0.74 vs. 3.20±0.66 with simethicone addition group showing significantly higher satisfaction than water addition group (p=0.020). CONCLUSIONS: PEGA bowel preparation agent showed satisfactory bowel cleansing despite the decrease in dosage, and addition of simethicone resulted in better bubble elimination.
Adult ; Ascorbic Acid/*chemistry ; Cathartics/adverse effects/chemistry/*pharmacology ; Colon/*drug effects ; Colonoscopy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Patient Compliance ; Polyethylene Glycols/adverse effects/*chemistry/pharmacology ; Prospective Studies ; Simethicone/*chemistry ; Water/*chemistry