Spasmolytische Wirkung des Isoasaronfreien Kalmus¹

Abstract

Acorus calamus yields different drug types with varying content of β-asarone, a substance which proved to be carcinogetic in rats. We tested essential oils with different β-asarone content for their activity against histatnine-spasms in the isolated guinea pig ileum. At a dose level of 10 µg/cm³, the β-asarone-free oil (type I) had a pronounced, spasmolytic activity which was comparable to that of the antihistaminic drug pyrilaminemaleate used as a standard antagonist (4 µg/cm³. Each of these drugs changed the EC₅₀ for histamine from 29 µg/cm³ to 118 µg/cm³ approximately. At a dose level of 10 µg/cm³ the β-asarone-rich oil (type IV) showed no spasmolytic activity at all. The essential oil of the european calamus with low content of β-asarone (type II) had also a good spasmolytic effect, however inferior to that of the β-asarone-free oil, so that the above cited decrease of the EC₅₀ value of histamine could be seen in a concentration of 32 µg/cm³. For this reasons and for better drug-safety, only the rhizomas of the β-asarone-free diploid or of the triploid calamus with low content of β-asarone should be used.