Abstract
Ulmus wallichiana Planchon (Family: Ulmaceae), a traditional medicinal plant, was used in fracture healing in the folk tradition of Uttarakhand, Himalaya, India. The present study investigated the cardioprotective effect of ethanolic extract (EE) and butanolic fraction (BF) of U. wallichiana in isoprenaline (ISO) induced cardiac hypertrophy in Wistar rats. Cardiac hypertrophy was induced by ISO (5 mg/kg/day, subcutaneously) in rats. Treatment was performed by oral administration of EE and BF of U. wallichiana (500 and 50 mg/kg/day). The blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) were measured by non-invasive blood pressure measurement technique. Plasma renin, Ang II, NO, and cGMP level were estimated using an ELISA kit. Angiotensin converting enzyme activity was estimated. BP and HR were significantly increased in ISO group (130.33 ± 1.67 mmHg vs. 111.78 ± 1.62 mmHg, p < 0.001 and 450.51 ± 4.90 beats/min vs. 347.82 ± 6.91 beats/min, respectively, p < 0.001). The BP and HR were significantly reduced (EE: 117.53 ± 2.27 mmHg vs. 130.33 ± 1.67 mmHg, p < 0.001, BF: 119.74 ± 3.32 mmHg vs. 130.33 ± 1.67 mmHg, p < 0.001); HR: (EE: 390.22 ± 8.24 beats/min vs. 450.51 ± 4.90 beats/min, p < 0.001, BF: 345.38 ± 6.79 beats/min vs. 450.51 ± 4.90 beats/min, p < 0.001) after the treatment of EE and BF of U. wallichiana, respectively. Plasma renin, Ang II, ACE activity was decreased and NO, cGMP level were increased. The EE and BF of U. wallichiana down regulated the expression of ANP, BNP, TNF-α, IL-6, MMP9, β1-AR, TGFβ1 and up regulated NOS3, ACE2 and Mas expression level, respectively. Thus, this study demonstrated that U. wallichiana has cardioprotective effect against ISO induced cardiac hypertrophy.
Highlights
Cardiac hypertrophy is the abnormal growth, or thickening, of the heart muscle, often due to chronic hypertension that leads to heart failure (HF)
We have explored the antihypertensive activity of ethanolic extract (EE) and butanolic fraction (BF) of U. wallichiana (Syed et al, 2016)
The treatment of extract and fraction of U. wallichiana significantly decreased heart to body weight, heart weight to tail length, and heart weight to tibia length ratio in ISO+EE and ISO+BF group compared to disease control (Figures 1A–C), respectively
Summary
Cardiac hypertrophy is the abnormal growth, or thickening, of the heart muscle, often due to chronic hypertension that leads to HF. While in left ventricular hypertrophy, the myocardial oxygen consumption is increased which results in decreased coronary blood flow reserve which results in angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, and sudden death (Levy et al, 1990). It is estimated that nearly 23 million people are affected by HF worldwide (McMurray et al, 1998). In India, the prevalence of HF is around 4.6 million with an annual occurrence of nearly 1.8 million (Huffman and Prabhakaran, 2010). Cardiac hypertrophy is a physiological adaptation which causes increased workload on the myocardium. Hypertrophic growth is due to many types of heart disease, including ischaemic heart disease, hypertension, heart failure, cardiac hypertrophy, and valvular disease (Frey et al, 2004)
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