Hypotensive Principle of Laminaria and Allied Seaweeds*

Abstract

The extract of a commercial preparation of “ne-kombu”, the basal parts of the blades of a laminariaceous seaweed, has been fractionated and monitored by its hypotensive activity in urethane anesthetized rats by i.v. administration to detect histamine as the possible active principle. Several commercial preparations of “ne-kombu” and the basal parts of the blades of a number of Laminaria plants and related seaweeds (Laminariaceae) have been subjected to estimation of the histamine content. As a result it has been found that only two of the commercial preparations contained fairly large quantities of histamine (0.04 and 0.11%), posing a question about the original plants and the quality of “ne-kombu”.

Key Word Index

Laminaria - Arthrothamnus - „Kombu” - „Ne-kombu” - Laminariaceae - Commercial Preparations - Authentic Specimens - Histamine - Hypotensive Activity