Intestinal and vascular smooth muscle relaxant effect of Viscum album explains its medicinal use in hyperactive gut disorders and hypertension

BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Research Article

Fazli Wahid¹  Izhar Hussain²  Taous Khan²  Abdul Jabbar Shah²  Rahila Qayyum²  Sayyad Ali² 

[1] Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, 22060, Abbottabad, Pakistan;Department of Pharmacy, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, 22060, Abbottabad, Pakistan;

关键词: Viscum album;    Fraction;    Rabbit jejunum and aorta;    Gut spasm;    Vasorelaxation;    Ca antagonist;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12906-016-1229-3

 received in 2015-11-11, accepted in 2016-07-19,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundViscum album has shown inhibitory effect on different smooth muscles but underlying mechanisms in gut and vascular smooth muscles are not well defined. Additionally, the plant has also importance in managing hyperactive gut and cardiovascular disorders. The current study was aimed to probe a pharmacological base of the smooth muscle relaxant effect of V. album in gut and vascular preparations.MethodsV. album crude extract (Va. Cr) and its ethyl acetate fraction (Va. EtAc) were studied using in vitro techniques. The antispasmodic activity was performed using isolated rabbit jejunum while the vasorelaxant effects were studied in rabbit aortic rings.ResultsVa. Cr and Va. EtAc inhibited spontaneous and high K+-induced contractions with EC50 values of 0.31 mg/mL (0.15–0.57) and 0.62 mg/mL (0.3–0.95), respectively. This advocates an antispasmodic effect probably operated through calcium channels blockade (CBB). The proposed mechanism was confirmed by a pretreatment of the tissue with Va. Cr (0.01–0.3 mg/mL), which shifted the Ca++ concentration-response curves (CRCs) rightward, similar to verapamil. Moreover, Va. Cr showed a partial relaxation against high K+ and PE (1 μM) induced contractions in isolated rabbit aorta rings. Va. EtAc caused complete relaxation of high K+ precontraction and partially relaxed PE (1 μM) induced contractions, suggesting inhibitory effect on Ca++ entry, in addition to other possible mechanisms. CRCs were shifted to the right correspondingly to verapamil when the aortic rings were pretreated with Va. Cr and Va. EtAc.ConclusionsThese data indicated that Va. Cr possesses smooth muscle relaxant effect mediated through voltage-dependent Ca++ channel blockade (CCB), which explains its spasmolytic and vasorelaxant activity. The CCB activity is concentrated more in Va. EtAc. This study provides an evidence for the medicinal importance of V. album in gut spasm and possibly hypertension.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2016