Antispasmodic effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Thymus vulgaris on the guinea-pig ileum.

The effects of Thymus vulgaris hydroalcoholic extract on the contractile responses of the isolated guinea-pig ileum were investigated. Contraction changes in the terminal ileum of guinea pigs were monitored using a force displacement transducer amplifier connected to a physiograph. Thymus vulgaris extract inhibited the contractile responses in a dose-dependent manner and also decreased the amplitude of peristaltic waves. It is concluded that T. vulgaris has an antispasmodic action on guinea pig ileum by decreasing the amplitudes of the muscle contractions during peristalsis. The EC50 was calculated as 1.7 mg mL(-1). In guinea-pig ileum the extract led to an antispasmodic effect, possibly by affecting the anticholinergic and serotoninergic pathways.