Effects of a Daisaikoto Extract on the Biliary Constituents in Mice and Rats

The effects of an extract of Daisaikoto (a traditional Chinese medicine) on biliary constituents was studied in mice fed with a lithogenic diet containing 0.5% cholesterol and 0.25% sodium cholate (the control diet) and in rats fed with a cholesterol-free diet. The Daisaikoto extract was added to the control diet at a level of 0.5%. A high incidence of cholesterol gallstones were found in the control mice, but not in the mice given the Daisaikoto extract. This difference was concluded to have been due to the absolute concentration of bile acid in the bile being significantly higher in the mice given the Daisaikoto extract than in the control mice. The result from rats fed with the cholesterol-free diet also demonstrated that the Daisaikoto extract caused an increase in the absolute concentration of bile acid in the bile.