[Comparative study on pharmacological effects of various species of Pueraria]

Through comparative studies on the acute toxicity of four species of Pueraria, it was found that the toxicity of P. peduncularis was the highest, followed by P. lobata and P. omeiensis, and that of P. thomsonii was the lowest. The inhibitory effects of P. lobata, P. omeiensis and puerarin on the fever induced by 2,4-dinitrophenol in rats were very fast and significant, maintaining for about 8 hours, while the effect of P. thomsonii is relatively weak. As for influence upon the degrees of myocardiac ischemia induced by pituitrin, P. omeiensis appeared to be the most potent, and P. thomsonii the least one, while P. lobata and puerarin were intermediate between the above two. Summarily, the antipyretic and anti-myocardiac ischemia effects of P. lobata and P. omeiensis are stronger than those of P. thomsonii, and puerarin is one of their effective components.