“Ninjinto” (Ginseng Decoction), a Traditional Japanese Herbal Medicine, Improves Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Immune Competence in Patients with Chronic Intestinal Failure

Abstract

Background. Treating functional gastrointestinal disorders is extremely difficult. We herein report the effect of the oral administration of Ninjinto (NJT, ginseng decoction), a traditional Japanese Kampo medicine, on chronic intestinal failure. Patients and Methods. Seven patients with chronic intestinal failure treated with NJT were evaluated in this study. The primary diseases included chronic intestinal pseudoobstruction (CIPO: n = 4), short bowel syndrome (SBS: n = 2), and intestinal atresia (n = 1). All patients orally received NJT extract granules at a dose of 0.3 g/kg BW per day. The treatment outcomes were then assessed according to the patients' symptoms and consecutive abdominal X-ray findings. Results. The targeted symptoms were abdominal distension in four patients, diarrhea in three patients, and frequent hospitalization due to infections in two patients. An improvement in the symptoms was observed in six of the seven patients, whereas one patient with SBS did not show any improvement. An improvement in an abdominal roentgenogram was observed in the four patients with remarkably dilated bowel loops due to CIPO. Conclusions. NJT may be effective in controlling functional gastrointestinal disorders associated with chronic intestinal failure. The use of Kampo medicine in the field of pediatric surgery may help to improve the quality of life in children suffering from such conditions.

Pharmacotherapy for pediatric chronic intestinal pseudo‐obstruction: Nationwide survey in Japan

“…Daikenchuto is an exact mixture of powdered ginger root, ginseng, zanthoxylum fruit, and maltose powder, and is traditionally used to treat chronic gastrointestinal disorders or to relieve abdominal pain and distension, Crohn's disease, IBS, and adhesive and paralytic ileus. Daikenchuto also improves gastrointestinal motility after abdominal digestive surgery and was recently reported to be clinically effective in improving gastrointestinal motility in a case of megacystis microcolon intestinal hypoperistalsis syndrome . In experimental studies, daikenchuto had preventive effects against postoperative ileus.…”

“…In Japan, among the 16.7 million children younger than 15 years old, the estimated prevalence of pediatric CIPO is 3.7 per million children, making pediatric CIPO a particularly rare disease. Few reports have described the efficacy of pharmacological therapy in pediatric CIPO . The fundamental targets of pharmacological therapy are prevention of small bowel bacterial overgrowth, improvement of gastrointestinal motor function, and control of visceral sensitivity.…”

“…Few reports have described the efficacy of pharmacological therapy in pediatric CIPO. 5,9,10 The fundamental targets of pharmacological therapy are prevention of small bowel bacterial overgrowth, improvement of gastrointestinal motor function, and control of visceral sensitivity. In a nationwide survey of adult CIPO in Japan, of 160 cases, the most commonly used drugs were mosapride citrate (63.1%), daikenchuto (51.1%), magnesium oxide (43.1%), and probiotics (38.8%).…”

“…Daikenchuto also improves gastrointestinal motility after abdominal digestive surgery 16,17 and was recently reported to be clinically effective in improving gastrointestinal motility in a case of megacystis microcolon intestinal hypoperistalsis syndrome. 9 In experimental studies, daikenchuto had preventive effects against postoperative ileus. Daikenchuto may therefore stimulate intestinal motility and accelerate delayed intestinal transit through the cholinergic pathway and activation of 5hydroxytryptamine-3 receptor (5-HT3R) and 5-hydroxytryptamine-4 receptor (5-HT4R).…”

Eco-Epidemiology and Control of Waterborne Gastroenteritis: A Review

“…Medicinal plants also play a significant role in the preparation of affective therapeutic agents. These medicines significantly improve gastrointestinal motility by inducing gastrointestinal motor activity and exerting both stimulatory and inhibitory affects in human plasma [50,51]. Oral rehydration therapy (ORS) proved efficient results in children suffering from gastroenteritis and this therapy decreased the bowel movements and fluid loss and shortened the duration of illness.…”