We report the case of a 60-year-old woman who presented with weakness and hypokalaemia due to excessive use of laxatives. When the laxatives were withdrawn, she developed severe congestive cardiac failure requiring treatment with a diuretic and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor. There was no underlying cardiac abnormality, and these drugs were eventually stopped with no recurrence of the ...

The aim of this study was preparation of a standard extract from the leaves of Artemisia absinthium in order to add into a suspention formula as a laxative agent for use in animal husbandry. As approved by the commission E, the Artemisia absinthium preparations are used internally for loss of appetite, dyspeptic, liver, and gallbladder complaints. A. absinthium is commonly used in food industry...

liqueur of cascara sagrada, which presents in a most pleasant and acceptable condition the tonic laxative properties of the true bark in combination with stomachic and carminative principles. It is of agreeable flavour, in sharp contradistinction to ordinary fluid preparations of cascara sagrada, which are often unpleasant. It exerts a marked tonic effect upon the bowel; it assures a normal act...

Dietary fiber is a nutritional concept based not on physiological functions but on defined chemical and physical properties. Recent definitions of dietary fiber differentiate inherent plant cell wall-associated fiber from isolated or synthetic fiber. For the latter to be defined as fiber, beneficial physiological effects should be demonstrated, such as laxative effects, fermentability, attenuat...

The most prominent feature of malnutrition that increases colon cancer is the use laxatives. Most community-dwelling individuals self-manage condition in bowel-related diseases and do not seek medical advice. Self-management often involves laxative products can be purchased over counter from pharmacies elsewhere. According to researches, those who herbal get enough information about they use, i...

Abuse of laxatives, most of them belonging to the group of colonic stimulants or cathartics, can cause various disorders. Extensive diagnostic work can be avoided by early toxicological screening of the suspected patients with respect to laxatives. Because no screening method of this kind was available, we developed a procedure with which all phenolic and anthraquinone laxatives--except sodium ...

Compared the additive benefits of laxative, behavior, and biofeedback treatments for encopresis, while attempting to identify treatment mechanisms and predictors of treatment outcome. 44 encopretic children, ages 6-15 years, were randomly assigned to either laxative therapy (LAX), LAX plus enhanced toilet training (ETT), or LAX + ETT + anal sphincter biofeedback (BF). Daily symptom diaries were...

Because of the laxative effect of capsaicin, we examined the effect of that agent on the electromyogram of the isolated cat colon. At a concentration of 10(-4)M, it caused a significant reduction in the frequency of the electrical slow waves in the proximal half of the colon. Frequency fell to its lowest value, 45% of control (P less than 0-001), in the most proximal 10% of the organ below the ...

Constipation is a common cause of general practice consultations in elderly people, and laxative use is common among this group of patients. However, there appears to be little evidence to guide laxative treatment in this population. This paper reports the results of a systematic review of randomized controlled trials of the efficacy of laxatives in the treatment of constipation in the elderly....