Sodium Picosulfate (Laxoberal) inhibits absorption of water and electrolytes, and increases their secretion.

Sodium Picosulfate displays cytotoxic effects on cultured liver cells. 800 and 1600 mg/mL induces dose-dependently vacuolic and fatty change as well as necrosis combined with a lowered mitotic activity and a slight increase in LDH values of the rapidly growing cultured liver cells of rabbit. Comparable but less severe effects are observed in 4-day old liver cell cultures of rat, while liver cells cultured for 6 to 11 days tolerate 1600 mg/mL Sodium Picosulfate. In human liver cultures the number of cells is slightly lowered at 800 and 1600 mg/mL and the number of nuclei in division is decreased dependent on dose. [1]

Sodium Picosulphate treatment for long-term has no effects on neuropeptide content of the rat colon. Over a 6-month period, daily doses (10 mg/kg/day) or twice-weekly doses (7.5 mg/kg/day) of Sodium Picosulphate do not affect the level of Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), somatostatin, and substance P in mucosa, submucosa, or muscularis externa. [2] Sodium Picosulphate has no major influence on ileal and colonic epithelial cell proliferation. In a 12 weeks study, 10 mg/kg Sodium Picosulphate continuously treatment does not influence the labeling index of Brdu (LI) in the ileum and induces no statistically significant increase of the LI when the treated groups are compared with the control group. The proliferative pattern along the crypts remains unchanged with sodium picosulphate treatment throughout the study. [3] Sodium Picosulphate does not induce chronic changes in colonic motility in rats under long-term treatment. 10 mg/kg/day Sodium Picosulphate pretreated for 23 weeks does not induce any significant change in the duration of long spike bursts (LSB) which are associated with phasic contractions, or in LSB frequency in the fasted state or after a 3-gram meal. [4]