Abstract
In present study, we report the blood pressure lowering, vasodilatory and cardio-depressant activities of Lens culinaris. The crude extract of L. culinaris induced dose-dependent (3-30 mg/kg) fall in the arterial pressure of rats under anesthesia. When tested in rat aortic ring preparations, L. culinaris at concentration range of 0.03-5.0 mg/mL relaxed high K+ (80 mM) and phenylephrine (1 ?M)-induced contractions, like that caused by verapamil. In isolated guinea-pig atria, L. culinaris caused inhibition of atrial force and rate of spontaneous contractions, similar to that exhibited by verapamil. These data indicate that L. culinaris exhibits blood pressure lowering potential, mediated possibly through Ca++ channel blockade mechanism.
Highlights
We recently observed that Lens culinaris Moench (Leguminosae) exhibited gut and airways relaxant activities (Khan et al, 2014)
Experimentsl animals used in this study include adult Sprague-Dawley rats (180-200 g) and guinea-pigs (450500 g) of local breed and either sex housed in the animal facility of The Aga Khan University under controlled environment (23-25oC)
Acetylcholine chloride (ACh), isoprenaline hydrochloride, norepinephrine hydrochloride (NE), phenylephrine hydrochloride and verapamil hydrochloride were purchased from Sigma Chemical Company, USA
Summary
We recently observed that Lens culinaris Moench (Leguminosae) exhibited gut and airways relaxant activities (Khan et al, 2014). Lot research is going on for exploration of alternative therapy for hypertension management (Ghayur and Janssen, 2010) because they are safe, economical and possesses synergistic and side-effect neutralizing properties (Gilani and Atta-ur-Rahman, 2005). We evaluated the effects of L. culinaris on cardiovascular parameters and reported that it exhibits blood pressure lowering, cardio-depressant and vasodilator activities, mediated possibly via inhibition of Ca++ entry via membranous Ca++ channels
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