Abstract
BackgroundHeliotropium strigosum is used in traditional medicine to manage gastrointestinal pain, respiratory distress and vascular disorders. The present study was undertaken to provide scientific evidences for these folkloric uses by in vitro experimental settings.MethodsA crude methanol extract of the Heliotropium strigosum (Hs.Cr) was tested in vitro on isolated rabbit jejunum preparations to detect the possible presence of spasmolytic activity. Moreover, isolated rabbit tracheal and aorta preparations were used to ascertain the relaxant effects of the extract.ResultsThe Hs.Cr exhibited relaxant effects in rabbit jejunum in a concentration dependent manner (0.01-3.0 mg/ml). The Hs.Cr also relaxed K+ (80 mM)-induced spastic contractions in rabbit jejunum and shifted the Ca2+ concentration response curves towards right. The extract relaxed carbachol (1 μM)- as well as K+ (80 mM)-induced contractions in rabbit trachea at concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 10 mg/ml. Moreover, Hs.Cr. also relaxed (0.01-3.0 mg/ml) the phenylephrine (1 μM)- and K+ (80 mM)-induced contractions in isolated rabbit aorta.ConclusionsThe Hs.Cr was found to exhibit spasmolytic, bronchodilator and vasorelaxant activities on isolated rabbit jejunum, trachea and aorta preparations, likely mediated through Ca2+ channel blockade. This finding may provide a scientific basis for the folkloric uses of the plant.
Highlights
Heliotropium strigosum is used in traditional medicine to manage gastrointestinal pain, respiratory distress and vascular disorders
Hs.Cr caused a relaxation of K+ (80 mM)induced contractions in isolated rabbit jejunum preparations with an EC50 value of 0.243 mg/ml (Fig. 1c and Fig. 2a)
In this study we observed the effects of a methanolic extract of H. strigosum in smooth isolated muscle by constructing dose-response curves
Summary
Heliotropium strigosum is used in traditional medicine to manage gastrointestinal pain, respiratory distress and vascular disorders. (Boraginaceae), locally known as Kharsan, Gorakh pam and Bhangra, is a herb widely distributed throughout Pakistan [1]. It grows in arid places, land rocks, hypersaline soils and regions where ecological environment is markedly unkind, due to the high temperature and reduced carbon availability. The calyx-lobes are ovate, acute, and enlarged into fruit. The fruit is depressed at the apex up to 4 mm, Strigosine, a pyrrolizidine alkaloid, has been isolated from H. strigosum [7]. Methanolic extracts of the plant showed cytotoxic and phytotoxic activities [8]. The ethyl acetate fraction of a crude extract of Janbaz et al BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2015) 15:169
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