Background
Senecio serratuloides
DC is used in folk medicine for treating hypertension, skin disorders, internal and external sores, rashes, burns and wounds. This study aimed at investigating the antihypertensive effects of the hydroethanol extract of
S. serratuloides
(HESS) in N-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) induced hypertension in rats.
Methods: Acute toxicity of HESS was first determined to provide guidance on doses to be used in this study. Lorke’s method was used to determine safety of the extract in mice. Female Wistar rats were treated orally once daily with L-NAME (40 mg/kg) for 4 weeks and then concomitantly with L-NAME (20 mg/kg) and plant extract (150 and 300 mg/kg), captopril (20 mg/kg) or saline as per assigned group for 2 weeks followed by a 2-week period of assigned treatments only. Blood pressure was monitored weekly. Lipid profile, nitric oxide, renin and angiotensin II concentrations were determined in serum while mineralocorticoid receptor concentration was quantified in the kidney homogenate. Nitric oxide (NO) concentration was determined in serum and cardiac histology performed.
Results
HESS was found to be non-toxic, having a LD
50
greater than 5000 mg/kg. Blood pressure increased progressively in all animals from the second week of L-NAME treatment. HESS treatment significantly and dose-dependently lowered systolic blood pressure (
p
< 0.001), diastolic blood pressure (
p
< 0.01), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (
p
< 0.01) and triglycerides (
p
< 0.01). It significantly prevented L-NAME induced decrease in serum angiotensin II (
p
< 0.01), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (
p
< 0.001) and serum nitric oxide concentrations (
p
< 0.001). HESS also significantly (
p
< 0.01) prevented collagen deposition in cardiac tissue.
Conclusion
The hydro-ethanol extract of
Senecio serratuloides
showed antihypertensive, antihyperlipidemic and cardioprotective effects in rats thus confirming its usefulness in traditional antihypertensive therapy and potential for antihypertensive drug development.
Nanotechnology can be defined as the field of science and technology that studies material at nanoscale (1–100 nm). These nanomaterials, especially carbon nanostructure-based composites and biopolymer-based nanocomposites, exhibit excellent chemical, physical, mechanical, electrical, and many other properties beneficial for their application in many consumer products (e.g., industrial, food, pharmaceutical, and medical). The current literature reports that the increased exposure of humans to nanomaterials could toxicologically affect their environment. Hence, this paper aims to present a review on the possible nanotoxicology assays that can be used to evaluate the toxicity of engineered nanomaterials. The different ways humans are exposed to nanomaterials are discussed, and the recent toxicity evaluation approaches of these nanomaterials are critically assessed.
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