Vasorelaxant effect of Prunus yedoensis bark

Kyungjin Lee,Inhye Ham,Hocheol Kim,Youngmin Bu,Gabsik Yang,Mihwa Lee,Ho-Young Choi

doi:10.1186/1472-6882-13-31

Vasorelaxant effect of Prunus yedoensis bark

Kyungjin Lee, Inhye Ham + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6882-13-31

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Abstract

BackgroundPrunus yedoensis Matsum. is used as traditional medicine—‘Yaeng-Pi’ or ‘Hua-Pi’—in Japan and Korea. However, no studies have examined the pharmacological activities of the P. yedoensis bark. Only the antioxidant and antiviral activities of P. yedoensis fruit and the anti-hyperglycaemic effect of P. yedoensis leaf have been investigated. While studying the antihypertensive effects of several medicinal plants, we found that a methanol extract of P. yedoensis bark (MEPY) had distinct vasorelaxant effects on rat aortic rings.MethodsThe aortic rings were removed from Sprague–Dawley rats and suspended in organ chambers containing 10 ml Krebs-Henseleit solution. The aortic rings were placed between 2 tungsten stirrups and connected to an isometric force transducer. Changes in tension were recorded via isometric transducers connected to a data acquisition system.ResultsMEPY relaxed the contraction induced by phenylephrine (PE) both in endothelium-intact and endothelium-denuded aortic rings concentration dependently. However, the vasorelaxant effects of MEPY on endothelium-denuded aortic rings were lower than endothelium-intact aortic rings. The vasorelaxant effects of MEPY on endothelium-intact aortic rings were reduced by pre-treatment with l-NAME, methylene blue, or ODQ. However, pre-treatment with indomethacin, atropine, glibenclamide, tetraethylammonium, or 4-aminopyridine had no affection. In addition, MEPY inhibited the contraction induced by extracellular Ca2+ in endothelium-denuded rat thoracic aorta rings pre-contracted by PE (1 μM) or KCl (60 mM) in Ca2+-free solution.ConclusionsOur results suggest that MEPY exerts its vasorelaxant effects via the activation of NO formation by means of l-Arg and NO-cGMP pathways and via the blockage of extracellular Ca2+ channels.

Highlights

Prunus yedoensis Matsum. is used as traditional medicine—‘Yaeng-Pi’ or ‘Hua-Pi’—in Japan and Korea
The maximal relaxant effect was 94.0% ± 2.7% and 49.4% ± 0.7% for Effect of MEPY on endothelium-intact aortic rings pre-incubated with various K+ channel blockers The vasorelaxant effects of MEPY on PE (1 μM)-precontracted endothelium-intact aortic rings were not altered by incubation of the rings with various K+ channel blockers, including glibenclamide (10 μM), tetraethylammonium (TEA, 5 mM), or 4-aminopyridine (4-AP, 1 mM)
Effect of MEPY on endothelium-intact aortic rings pre-incubated with indomethacin or atropine Incubation with indomethacin (1 μM), a non-selective cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor, did not affect MEPYinduced relaxation of endothelium-intact aortic rings pre-contracted by PE (1 μM) treatment (Figure 3)

Summary

Introduction

Prunus yedoensis Matsum. is used as traditional medicine—‘Yaeng-Pi’ or ‘Hua-Pi’—in Japan and Korea. No studies have examined the pharmacological activities of the P. yedoensis bark. The antioxidant and antiviral activities of P. yedoensis fruit and the anti-hyperglycaemic effect of P. yedoensis leaf have been investigated. While studying the antihypertensive effects of several medicinal plants, we found that a methanol extract of P. yedoensis bark (MEPY) had distinct vasorelaxant effects on rat aortic rings. Prunus yedoensis Matsum (PY) is the most popular and widely cultivated cherry tree in Japan and Korea [1,2]. The antioxidant and antiviral activities of PY fruit [5] and the anti-hyperglycaemic effect of PY leaf [6] have been investigated. While conducting an in vitro screening study of various medicinal plants of vasorelaxant effect on the isolated rat thoracic aorta rings using organ chamber technique, PY bark was found to exhibit distinct vasorelaxant activity.

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