Pharmacological Effects of Extract of Bufonis Yenenum

섬수(Bufonis Yenenum) 추출물의 약리작용

Bufonis Venenum is a toad venom and its main components are bufadienolides, namely resibufogenin, bufalin and cinobufagin. The desensitizing effect of Bufonis Venenum is useful for the treatment of the premature ejaculation in Chinese medicine. But, minor components of Bufonis Venenum cause problems such as topical burring, pain, and erectile dysfunction. To clarify and eliminate the components responsible for these side effects, we prepared two extracts of Bufonis Venenum with either 70% ethanol or ethylacetate and tested their pharmacological effects. The extract of Bufonis Venenum with 70% ethanol produced pain response in rat hind paw, and exhibited contraction of rabbit corpus cavernosal muscle in vitro. On the other hand, the ethylacetate extract did not cause pain and smooth muscle contraction. The desensitizing effect of the ethylacetate extract was similar to that of the 70% ethanol extract. In conclusion, these results show that the extract of Bufonis Venenum with ethylacetate does not have the components causing side effects and deserve further study for therapeutic potential in premature ejaculation in men.