Murugan N, Burkhill G, Williams S G, Padley S P G, Murray-Lyon I M
Department of Gastroenterology, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, 369 Fulham Road, London SW10 9NH, UK.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2003 Jun;86(2-3):225-7. doi: 10.1016/s0378-8741(03)00079-5.
An increase in the prevalence of gallstones has been reported from the Middle East and the Republic of Yemen. Changing dietary habits and obesity are thought to be responsible but other local factors may contribute such as chewing the leaves of the khat plant (Catha edulis Forsk.) which is a widespread social custom in Yemen. We have studied the effects of khat chewing on gallbladder motility in a group of 10 healthy volunteers. All subjects underwent ultrasound measurements of gallbladder volume after chewing khat leaves or lettuce, which was used as the control. Results were compared after chewing for up to 2h in the fasting state and in response to a fatty meal. There was no significant change in gallbladder volume after chewing khat compared with lettuce in the fasting state (P=0.7) or in gallbladder emptying after a fatty meal (P=0.4) and we conclude that khat chewing has no clinically significant effect on gallbladder motility.
据报道，中东地区和也门共和国胆结石的患病率有所上升。饮食习惯的改变和肥胖被认为是原因所在，但其他当地因素可能也有影响，比如咀嚼巧茶（Catha edulis Forsk.）的叶子，这在也门是一种普遍的社会习俗。我们研究了咀嚼巧茶对一组10名健康志愿者胆囊运动的影响。所有受试者在咀嚼巧茶叶子或作为对照的生菜后，均接受了胆囊体积的超声测量。在禁食状态下咀嚼长达2小时后以及进食脂肪餐后，对结果进行了比较。在禁食状态下，咀嚼巧茶后胆囊体积与咀嚼生菜相比无显著变化（P = 0.7），进食脂肪餐后胆囊排空情况也无显著变化（P = 0.4），我们得出结论，咀嚼巧茶对胆囊运动没有临床显著影响。
