1. Cardiovascular activity of the n-butanol fraction of the methanol extract of Loranthus ferrugineus Roxb.
- Author
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O.Z. Ameer, I.M. Salman, M.J.A. Siddiqui, M.F. Yam, R.N. Sriramaneni, A. Sadikun, Z. Ismail, A.M. Shah, and M.Z. Asmawi
- Subjects
Loranthus ferrugineus ,n-butanol fraction ,Cardiovascular effect ,Aortic ring ,Vasorelaxation ,Terpenoid ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 ,Biology (General) ,QH301-705.5 - Abstract
We investigated the vascular responses and the blood pressure reducing effects of different fractions obtained from the methanol extract of Loranthus ferrugineus Roxb. (F. Loranthaceae). By means of solvent-solvent extraction, L. ferrugineus methanol extract (LFME) was successively fractionated with chloroform, ethyl acetate and n-butanol. The ability of these LFME fractions to relax vascular smooth muscle against phenylephrine (PE)- and KCl-induced contractions in isolated rat aortic rings was determined. In another set of experiments, LFME fractions were tested for blood pressure lowering activity in anesthetized adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (250-300 g, 14-18 weeks). The n-butanol fraction of LFME (NBF-LFME) produced a significant concentration-dependent inhibition of PE- and KCl-induced aortic ring contractions compared to other fractions. Moreover, NBF-LFME had a significantly higher relaxant effect against PE- than against high K+-induced contractions. In anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats, NBF-LFME significantly lowered blood pressure in a dose-dependent manner and with a relatively longer duration of action compared to the other fractions. HPLC, UV and IR spectra suggested the presence of terpenoid constituents in both LFME and NBF-LFME. Accordingly, we conclude that NBF-LFME is the most potent fraction producing a concentration-dependent relaxation in vascular smooth muscle in vitro and a dose-dependent blood pressure lowering activity in vivo. The cardiovascular effects of NBF-LFME are most likely attributable to its terpenoid content.
- Published
- 2010