Pharmacodynamic compariason on the mixed decoction and the separated granule of Erchen Tang

OBJECTIVE To study the differences of pharmacodynamics between the mixed decoction and the separated granule of Erchen Tang (ECT),a prescription of traditional Chinese medicine. METHODS Pharmacodynamics of two mixtures including the mixed decoction, the separated decoction and the separated granule of ECT were parallelly studied on the following experiments: the phenolsulfonphthalein excretion from trachea, the cough induced by ammonia and the asthma induced by histamine. RESULTS These two mixtures of ECT could increase the phenolsulfonphthalein excretion from trachea, prolong the latent period of the cough and reduce the cough times in mice. The results also showed that the latent periods of the asthma and the overturn reaction by histamine were significantly extended, and the overturn ratio was decreased in guinea pig. CONCLUSIONS The pharmacodynamics of ECT in the separated granule is not inferior to that in the mixed decoction.