Moringa oleifera Whole Methanolic Leaf Extract Attenuates Levels of Angiogenic Factors in the Cervix of Preterm Labor Mice Models

Abstract

On average, 1 in 10 births in the United States are born premature, and the leading cause is microbial infection and inflammation. Current treatments have serious side effects and are undermined by the growing multi resistance to anti‐microbial agents. We recently demonstrated a positive feed forward relationship between expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a key angiogenic factor, in mice cervix and inflammation. We also revealed that Moringa oleifera, an ancient medicinal plant, exhibit potent anti‐bacterial (E. coli) and ‐inflammatory activities in vitro and in cervix of the same mice models, respectively. Here, we test whether Moringa oleifera can also modulate expression of VEGF and other angiogenic factors in the cervix of preterm labor mice models. Cervical tissues of pregnant mice were harvested and analyzed using real‐time PCR (qPCR) and Western blot after specific treatments [2 hour pretreatment with Moringa oleifera (4.8 μg/50 μL methanol, oral) followed by 2 hour treatment with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (100 μg/50 μL 1X PBS, i.p.)]. Other angiogenic factors examined include VEGF receptor 1 (Flt‐1), VEGF receptor 2 (KDR), and endothelin‐1 (End‐1). The results show that Moringa oleifera whole leaf methanolic extract overall down regulates expression of VEGF, KDR, and End‐1 mRNAs, while it had no significant effect on the expression of Flt‐1. Based on these data, we conclude that Moringa oleifera may be used to intercept the positive feed forward loop between angiogenic and inflammatory factors, and thus potentially tone down inflammation and subsequently preterm labor.Support or Funding InformationAppalachian State University, Office of Student Research.