Five antiplatelet agents have been isolated from Chinese herbs. Apigenin and magnolol are inhibitors of thromboxane synthesis, while osthole, protopine and norathyriol are inhibitiors of phosphoinositide breakdown. Thirty min after intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of these drugs, tail bleeding time of mice was prolonged markedly in a dose-dependent manner by norathyriol, protopine, osthole and magnolol, but not by apigenin. However, the antiplatelet agents (up to 200 mg kg-1, i.p.) could not prevent acute thromboembolic death in mice. In endotoxin-induced experimental disseminated intravascular coagulation in rats, norathyriol (50-100 mg kg-1, i.p.) prevented the decrease in platelet counts and fibrinogen, and the prolongation of plasma prothrombin time. Norathyriol (100 mg kg-1, i.p.) also suppressed ex-vivo platelet aggregation induced by collagen and ADP in rat plasma.