daikenchuto

Daikenchuto (DKT) is a traditional Japanese Kampo medicine composed of four crude drugs in specific ratios: dried Japanese pepper (Zanthoxylum piperitum), processed ginger (Zingiberis Siccatum Rhizoma), ginseng radix (Panax ginseng), and maltose powder. It is used primarily to treat gastrointestinal disorders such as abdominal cold feeling, abdominal pain accompanied by flatulence, chronic constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, postoperative ileus, Crohn’s disease, adhesive ileus, and paralytic ileus. The drug promotes gastrointestinal motility and improves blood flow in the gastrointestinal tract. Its mechanisms include anti-inflammatory effects through selective inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and downregulation of inflammatory mediators like tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1 beta. It also increases gastrointestinal blood flow via induction of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), substance P, and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP). Additionally, it modulates the colonic immune system by enhancing group 3 innate lymphoid cells which help maintain colonic microenvironment integrity. Daikenchuto has been approved for prescription use in Japan since 1986 and is under investigation in the US for constipation and Crohn’s disease.

Brand names

TSUMURA Daikenchuto Extract Granules

Other names

DaikenchutoDKT