Endothelium-dependent effects of the ethanolic extract of the mistletoe Psittacanthus calyculatus on the vasomotor responses of rat aortic rings

Vasoactive and antioxidant activities of plants used in Mexican traditional medicine for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases

“…These experiments clearly demonstrated that the P. calyculatus extract induces an endothelium-dependent vasodilatory effect, probably caused by its high content of polyphenols that promote vascular relaxation by inducing the release of NO from vascular endothelium and diminishing NO breakdown by superoxide anions. This observation is consistent with that found by Rodríguez-Cruz et al (2003), who reported that the ethanol extract of P. calyculatus leaves induced an endothelium-dependent vasodilatation that seemed to be mediated by the synthesis of NO. It is well known that NO induces vascular smooth muscle relaxation through activation of sGC, leading to the accumulation of cGMP (Moncada et al, 1991).…”

“…The aqueous extract of the C. pentadactylon inflorescence and the ethanol extract of P. calyculatus leaves were reported to have vasodilatory actions (Perusquía et al, 1995;Rodríguez-Cruz et al, 2003), which is in agreement with the results obtained in this study. In addition, the extracts of C. pentadactylon, P. calyculatus, and D. moldavica exhibited substantial radical-scavenging activity that was 2-, 3.5-, and 4.4-fold less potent than Trolox, respectively.…”

Cistus incanus and Cistus monspeliensis inhibit the contractile response in isolated rat smooth muscle

“…It is quite plausible that the myorelaxant effects of Cistus incanus and Cistus monspeliensis extracts may be attributed to the presence of polyphenolic compounds, since it is well established that flavonoids from a great variety of plants inhibit intestinal motility in vitro (Tona et al, 2000;Weiman et al, 2002;Heinrich, 2003) and are provided with vascular effects in vessels of different territories and/or of different mammals (Huang et al, 1998;Chan et al, 2000;Ibarra et al, 2002;Rodriguez-Cruz et al, 2003).…”

Antioxidant and vasorelaxant activities of theTurraeanthus africanusmethanol extract

“…In order to investigate the mechanisms underlying the vasorelaxant action of the MeOH extract of T. africanus, rat aortic rings were preincubated with either nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 100 µM) or indomethacin (10 µM) for 30 min before addition of the noradrenaline (NA) and the extract (Ajay et al, 2003;Rodriguez-Cruz et al, 2003). The rat aorta rings were first constricted with NA (1 µM) to test the endothelial integrity with a single addition of acetylcholine (Ach; 1 µM).…”