Effect of oral ingestion of an extract of the herb Uncaria tomentosa on the biodistribution of sodium pertechnetate in rats
Braz. j. med. biol. res
;
40(1): 77-80, Jan. 2007. tab
Article
in English
| LILACS
| ID: lil-439670
ABSTRACT
The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of the oral ingestion of an extract of the herb Uncaria tomentosa (cat's claw) on the biodistribution of the radiobiocomplex sodium pertechnetate (Na99mTcO4) in rats. The animals (male Wistar rats, 2 months old, 180-220 g), were treated (1 mL) with an U. tomentosa extract (32 mg/mL, N = 5) or 0.9 percent NaCl solution (control, N = 5) for 7 days. After this period, Na99mTcO4 (3.7 MBq, 0.3 mL) was injected through the ocular plexus and after 10 min the rats were killed, the organs isolated and counted in a well-gamma counter. A significant (P < 0.05) alteration in Na99mTcO4 uptake i) from 0.57 ± 0.008 to 0.39 ± 0.06 percentATI/organ (P < 0.05) and from 0.57 ± 0.17 to 0.39 ± 0.14 percentATI/g (P < 0.05) was observed in the heart, ii) from 0.07 ± 0.02 to 0.19 ± 0.07 percentATI/g in the pancreas, and iii) from 0.07 ± 0.01 to 0.18 ± 0.07 percentATI/g (P < 0.05) in muscle after treatment with this extract. Although these results were obtained with animals, caution is advisable in the interpretation of the nuclear medicine examination when the patient is using this herb. This finding is probably an example of drug interaction with a radiopharmaceutical, a fact that could lead to misdiagnosis of the examination in clinical practice with unexpected consequences for the patient.
Full text:
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Index:
LILACS (Americas)
Main subject:
Radiopharmaceuticals
/
Cat's Claw
Limits:
Animals
Language:
English
Journal:
Braz. j. med. biol. res
Journal subject:
Biology
/
Medicine
Year:
2007
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Brazil
/
United States
Institution/Affiliation country:
Universidade Federal Fluminense/BR
/
Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro/BR
/
University of North Carolina/US
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