Background: Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a common hypertensive disorder of pregnancy with a prevalence rate of 3-5%. There is no modern drug which cures PE so far. On the other hand, plant medicines are claimed to cure this disease. Exploring potential plant medicines for their therapeutic and/or prophylactic uses in this disease, therefore has paramount importance. In Ethiopia, there is a strong claim that leaves of Moringa stenopetala and Thymus schimperi have anti-hypertension activities. Thus, the current study was supposed to prove the potential therapeutic effects of the two plants against PE. PE reduces organ blood flow and increasesvascular resistance. Assessing these variables has widely been accepted when monitoring high-risk pregnancies and evaluating therapeutic and/or prophylactic uses of drugs. Methods: A comparative experimental case control study was employed to determine the effects of aqueous crude extracts of Thymus schimperi and Moringa stenopetala on regional blood flow velocities and vascular resistance of PE Albino-Wistar rat models induced by a potent vasoconstrictor, nitro-arginine methyl ester(L-NAME). A Doppler flow meter (Atys, Directive 93/42/EEC/CEE, Model, BASIC123LP) was used to measure the systolic and diastolic regional blood flow velocities through abdominal aorta, uterine, renal and common carotid arteries. The peripheral vascular resistance for the respective vessels were evaluated using resistivity and pulsatility indices. Results: Aqueous leaf extracts of T. schimperi (ALETS) and M. stenopetala (ALEMS) significantly increased regional blood flow velocities and decreased peripheral vascular resistance in PE rat modelsin a dose dependent pattern compared with untreated controls. For example, ALETS treated PE groups showed increased diastolic blood velocity (DBV) (cm/sec) of uterine arteries 3.8±0.4 (p<0.05), 4.2±0.4 (p<0.01), 7.3±0.5 (p<0.01), while ALEMS treated PE group had uterine arterial DBV of 2.8±0.3 (p<0.01), 3.5±0.8 (p<0.05), 6.6±0.8 (p<0.01) with daily doses of 250 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg and 1 gm/kg, respectively. Moreover, the vascular resistances (measured by resistivity and pulsatility indices), of the respective vessels were significantly lower in a dose dependent pattern. Conclusion: Both ALETS and ALEMS could increaseregional blood flow velocities and decrease vascular resistances of PE rat models. Further investigation should, however, be carried out to confirm their therapeutic merits.
Background: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are common pregnancy complications, with a cumulative incidence of 7%. Pre-eclampsia (PE) is the most common clinical type of HDP and one of the five top leading causes of maternal mortality worldwide. There is imbalance between lipid peroxides and antioxidant system in PE. Established PE is associated with increased concentrations of oxidative stress markers including lipid peroxidation products, and a reduction in antioxidant concentrations. Methods: A case control experimental method was employed on Wistar rats with induced pre-eclampsia using nitric oxide-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME). Lipid peroxide content was estimated according to the method of Ohkawa et al. 1979. Total antioxidant capacity was assayed using colorimetric azinobis 2, 2′3-ethyl-benzothiazoline-6-sulfonate (ABTS) radical cathion decolorization assay. Results: Lipid peroxides of untreated PE rat models were significantly (p<0.01) higher (0.57±0.08 nmol of malondyaldehide (MDA) per gram tissue weight) compared to normal pregnant controls (0.11±0.03 nmol). PE rat models that received aqueous leaf extracts of Thymus schimperi (ALETS) had (0.09±0.01, 0.07±0.002 and 0.02±0.002 nmol) (p<0.05) while, those PE rat models that received aqueous leaf extracts of Moringa stenopetala (ALEMS) had (0.36±0.08, 0.20±0.003 and 0.13±0.02 nmol) (p<0.05) with daily doses of 250 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg respectively. On the other hand, untreated PE rat models had significantly (p<0.01) lower levels of serum total anti-oxidants (24.5±0.9 μg/ml of ascorbic acid equivalent) compared to normal pregnant controls (28.1±0.4 μg/ml). ALETS or ALEMS treated PE rat models had significantly (p<0.01) higher levels of serum total anti-oxidants in a dose dependent manner compared to untreated PE controls; (27.6±0.3, 29.5±0.3, 31.2±0.4 μg/ml and 29.2±0.3, 29.7±0.3, 30.6±0.4 μg/ml) with daily doses of 250 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg respectively. ALETS treated PE rat models had significantly (p<0.05) reduced total lipid peroxides compared to ALEMS treated counterparts. Conclusion: ALETS and ALEMS might have significant therapeutic effects against PE syndrome through reducing lipid peroxides and increasing total anti-oxidants.
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