Citral relaxes umbilical vessels of normotensive and preeclamptic parturients.

Introduction: Citral is a low-toxicity monoterpene that has a vasodilator effect on various smooth muscles, and The present study aimed to evaluate its vasorelaxant effect on umbilical vessels of normotensive parturients (NTP) and with preeclampsia parturients (PEP).
Method: Segments of human umbilical artery (HUA) and vein (HUV) of NTP or PEP were mounted in a bath to record the force of contraction, under tension of 3.0 gf and contracted with the contracting agents: K ⁺ (60 mM), 5 -HT (10 μM) and Ba ²⁺ (1-30 mM). Next, the effect of citral (1-3000 μM) on these contractions and on basal tone was evaluated.
Results: In HUA and HUV, citral (1-1000 μM), in NTP condition, inhibited contractions evoked by K ⁺ (IC ₅₀ of 413.5 and 271.3, respectively) and by 5-HT (IC ₅₀ of 164.8 and 574.3). In the PEP condition, in HUA and HUV, citral also inhibited the contractions evoked by K ⁺ (IC ₅₀ of 363.3 and 218.3, respectively) and 5-HT (IC ₅₀ of 432.1 and 520.4). At a concentration of 1000 μM, citral completely or almost completely (>90 %) inhibited all contractions. At a concentration of 100-1000 μM, citral, in general, was already able to reduce the contraction induced by 1-3 mM Ba ²⁺ in both AUH and VUH, under NTP and PEP conditions.
Discussion: Citral has been shown to be an effective HUA and HUV vasodilator in NTP and PEP. As its toxicity is low, it suggests that this substance can be considered a potential therapeutic agent.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.
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