Trikatu churna is one of the commonly used Ayurvedic formulations in the traditional system of medicine in India for the treatment of agnimandya, i.e. anorexia. Trikatu contains equal amounts of finely powdered rhizomes of Zingiber officinale Roscoe (Zingiberaceae) and fruits of Piper longum L. and Piper nigrum L. (Piperaceae). The chief objective of the study was to determine the antianorectic effects of three drugs individually and to compare these effects with the effect of Trikatu. The activity of the drugs was studied after anorexia was induced in rats by (1) physical stress arising from immobilization for 60 min; (2) intraperitoneal injection of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 100 μg/kg body weight); and (3) intraperitoneal administration of fluoxetine (8 mg/kg body weight...

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