Abstract
We investigated the effect of Chinese medicine on injured pancreas by using isolated pancreatic acinar cells which were incubated under a hypercalcemic state. The cells were prepared by the Amsterdam & Jamieson method. They were incubated for one week in two kinds of 199 medium; one had a normal concentration of calcium (1.8mM) and the other a high concentration of calcium (6mM). Chinese medicine (saiko-keishi-to or kanzo) was added to each medium in a concentration of 80-320μg/ml. The following tests were performed; 1) observation by optical microscope, 2) measurement of amylase and LDH released from the cells, 3) measurement of cellular content of amylase, LDH, protein and DNA. The results indicated that saiko-keishi-to or one of the constituents, kanzo, suppressed pancreatic injury due to hypercalcemic state (as shown in the presence of damaged cells, decreased DNA content, etc. ). The above mentioned phenomenon suggests the usefulness of these medicines for the treatment of pancreatic injury
