Experiment study on the effect of Sheng-Mai injection on the contractivity of diaphragm and its mechanism.

In this study the effect of Sheng-Mai Injection i.e. Red Ginseng-Ophiopogon Root Injection (one kind of traditional Chinese medicines) on the contractivity of diaphragm was observed. The results confirmed that Sheng-Mai Injection increased Pdi of the fatigued diaphragm in rabbits and reduced the time needed for the recovery of Pdi of fatigued diaphragm to the normal value. These results suggest that Sheng-Mai Injection can increase the contractive force and promote the recovery of the fatigued diaphragm. The effect of Sheng-Mai Injection on the contractivity of the isolated diaphragmatic bundle of rats was also observed and the results confirmed that Sheng-Mai Injection increased the diaphragmatic contractive force directly. This effect of increasing the contractive force of diaphragm was attenuated by adding calcium channel blocker isoptin and disappeared when there was no calcium in the extracellular fluid. It is deduced, therefore, that the mechanism of the effect of Sheng-mai Injection is related to the increased influx of calcium from extracellular fluid into the cells.