OBJECTIVE  To investigate the effect of oral administration of Whitmania Pigra on the content of native thiol(-SH) in plasma of rats and its relationship with antithrombotic related indicators, to clarify the internal correlation of "ingredient-efficacy", and to provide scientific basis for exploring the material basis of its pharmacological effect.

METHODS  Ellman method was used to determine the native -SH content in Whitmania Pigra. The normal rats were given intragastric administration of the drug for 7 days, and the changes of native -SH content in plasma within 7 days and bleeding time after tail amputation on the 2nd and 7th day were detected. Carrageenan was used to induce rat tail thrombosis model, and the rats were given carrageenan for 5 days before modeling. Blood samples were collected 24 hours after modeling to detect the content of native -SH in plasma and antithrombotic indexes.

RESULTS  The content of -SH was 0.3110−0.3270 mmol·L⁻¹. Within 7 days of oral administration, the content of native -SH in the plasma of normal rats increased first and then tended to be stable with the extension of administration time. The bleeding time after tail amputation on the 7th day was significantly longer than that on the 2nd day, and the content of native -SH in the plasma was strongly positively correlated with the bleeding time. After administration, the content of native -SH in serum of thrombosis model rats increased significantly, and its content was positively correlated with the dose of administration. Compared with the model group, the black tail rate and coagulation indexes of the treated group were significantly improved, the platelet aggregation rate was significantly decreased, and the levels of AC and cAMP in serum were significantly increased, indicating that Whitmania Pigra had a significant antithrombotic effect, and the antithrombotic effect was strongly positively correlated with the content of native -SH in plasma.

CONCLUSION  There are abundant -SH components in Whitmania Pigra, and the content of native -SH in plasma of rats after oral administration is closely related to its antithrombotic effect, suggesting that thiol(-SH) protein components in Whitmania Pigra may be important substances with blood-promoting effect, which provides a new perspective and idea for exploring the traditional effect substances of Whitmania Pigra.