Relaxant Effect of Purwoceng (Pimpinella pruatjan Molk.) Extract on Isolated Wistar Rat Corpus Cavernosum

Purwoceng (Pimpinella pruatjan Molk.) is an Indonesian medicinal plant traditionally used to support male vitality, but its direct effect on corpus cavernosum tone remains unclear. This exploratory study evaluated the relaxant response of ethanolic Purwoceng root extract in isolated Wistar rat corpus cavernosum and compared it with Krebs solution and sildenafil. Eleven biological preparations from 11 male Wistar rats were allocated sequentially to Krebs control (n = 4), sildenafil (n = 4), and Purwoceng extract (n = 3). Isolated tissues were mounted in an organ bath for isometric tension recording, precontracted with phenylephrine, and exposed to nominal concentrations of 0.01, 0.03, 0.10, and 0.30 mg/mL, corresponding to log10 concentrations of −2.0, −1.5, −1.0, and −0.5. Between-group comparisons were performed separately at each concentration using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey post hoc testing. Purwoceng extract produced relaxation values of −20.11 ± 4.60%, −22.95 ± 3.81%, −25.32 ± 3.67%, and −30.32 ± 2.31%. The response was greater than the Krebs control at all tested concentrations (p = 0.005, 0.003, 0.002, and < 0.001, respectively) but lower than sildenafil (all p < 0.001). Control relaxation also increased over time, so the findings do not establish a concentration–response relationship. Ethanolic Purwoceng root extract showed direct relaxant activity in isolated Wistar rat corpus cavernosum under the tested conditions. Because the sample was small, allocation was nonrandom, and the extract was not chemically standardized, the findings should be interpreted as preliminary ex vivo evidence requiring confirmation.