Osthole

CAS Registry Number, 484-12-8

ACTION, Antiarrythmic action,Sedative,ease pain, Exalt sexual appetite, Anti- allergy

Osthole - also spelled osthol - is a kind of coumarins. Osthole is found in cnidium monnieri and several other plants. Osthol could increase androgen, gonadotropin and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity. Osthole is a libido stimulator.Researchers investigate the cavernosal relaxant effect of osthole, has been long used in China as a herbal medicine to improve male sexual dysfunction. The data suggested that osthole posseses a relaxant effect on rabbit corpus cavernosal tissues which is attributable to the release of NO from sinusoidal endothelium and to the potentiation of the cGMP and/or cAMP signal mediating relaxation of cavernosal smooth muscle by inhibiting phosphodiesterase".

Osthole benefit for fatty liver

Osthole improves fat milk-induced fatty liver in rats: modulation of hepatic PPAR-alpha/gamma-mediated lipogenic gene expression.

Planta Med. 2007 July. Department of Pharmacology, Medical School of Soochow University, Suzhou, PR China.

The objectives of this study were to determine the therapeutic effect of osthole, an active constituent isolated from Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cusson (Apiaceae), in hyperlipidemic fatty liver rats and investigate the possible mechanism of the osthole treatment. Osthole exerts therapeutic effects on fat milk-induced fatty liver in rats, by regulating mRNA expression of the target genes of CYP7A, DGAT, L-FABP and FATP4 via increasing the PPARalpha/gamma mRNA expression.

Osthole research liver cancer

Chemical aspects of coumarin compounds for the prevention of hepatocellular carcinomas.

Curr Med Chem Anti-Canc Agents. 2005 Jan;5(1):47-51.

The normalization of plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) has been proved to be a strategy for preventing the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infection. Glycyrrhizin, a plant medicine, normalizes plasma ALT and prevents HCC. However, glycyrrhizin is administered intravenously and thereby chemical which is effective on oral administration is required. Coumarin compounds are active components of herbs used for the treatment of various diseases. The ability of coumarin compounds to lower plasma ALT were examined using mice concanavalin A-induced hepatitis and mice anti-Fas antibody-induced hepatitis.We conclude that osthole will become a leading chemical for synthesizing a compound which prevents liver cancer on oral administration.