1. Ethanol extract of Schisandrae chinensis fructus ameliorates the extent of experimentally induced atherosclerosis in rats by increasing antioxidant capacity and improving endothelial dysfunction.
- Author
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Chen X, Cao J, Sun Y, Dai Y, Zhu J, Zhang X, Zhao X, Wang L, Zhao T, Li Y, Liu Y, Wei G, Zhang T, and Yan Z
- Subjects
- Animals, Antioxidants isolation & purification, Antioxidants pharmacology, Atherosclerosis metabolism, Atherosclerosis pathology, Endothelium, Vascular metabolism, Endothelium, Vascular pathology, Ethanol pharmacology, Female, Lipid Peroxidation drug effects, Lipid Peroxidation physiology, Male, Mice, Random Allocation, Rats, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Antioxidants therapeutic use, Atherosclerosis drug therapy, Endothelium, Vascular drug effects, Ethanol therapeutic use, Fruit, Schisandra
- Abstract
Context: Schisandrae chinensis fructus, the dried ripe fruit of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill. (Magnoliaceae) has been used for thousands of years as a traditional Chinese herb, which can attenuate and prevent the development of cardiovascular events., Objective: To evaluate the effects of the ethanol extracts from Schisandrae chinensis fructus fruit (EESC) on experimental atherosclerosis (AS) in rats., Materials and Methods: Treatment with EESC (0.35, 0.7, 1.4 g/kg/d, i.g.) and simvastatin (4 mg/kg/d, i.g.) on AS rats for 3 weeks. Sprague-Dawley rats on normal chow and under water treatment were used as control. The content of schisandrin, schisandrin A and schisandrin B in EESC was detected by HPLC. Aortic pathology changes, serum biochemical indices and nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf-2) and heame oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expressions were measured., Results: Schisandrin, schisandrin A and schisandrin B contents were 291.8, 81.46 and 279.1 mg/g of dry weight, respectively. EESC significantly reduced the aortic plaque area (76.5, 90.5 and 73.9% reduction), regulated the levels of serum lipid (p < 0.05), enhanced the antioxidant enzyme activities (p < 0.01), reduced the malondialdehyde levels (72.5, 69.3, 67.3%), and up-regulated the Nrf-2 and HO-1 expression (p < 0.05). Furthermore, EESC reduced the levels of oxidized-LDL and endothelin-1 and thromboxane B2 but increased that of 6-keto prostaglandin F1α (p < 0.05). Acute toxicity was calculated on mice to be LD
50 > 20 g/kg., Conclusions: EESC positively affects the treatment of AS in vivo and the findings will provide a reliable theoretical basis for developing novel therapeutics.- Published
- 2018
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