Sompong Muangnongwa. Effect of expressed juice of fresh Centella asiatica (L.) Urban leaves on cardiovascular function in DOCA-salt hypertensive rats . Master's Degree(Biopharmaceutical Sciences). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2004.
Effect of expressed juice of fresh Centella asiatica (L.) Urban leaves on cardiovascular function in DOCA-salt hypertensive rats
Abstract:
Centella asiatica (L.) Urban, locally known as bua-bok, has several actions
including vasodilation, the important mechanism in alleviating blood pressure as well
as improving blood flow to various organs. Thus, this study is aimed to assess the
effects of oral administration of the expressed leaf juice of C. asiatica (L.) on
cardiovascular functions in DOCA-salt hypertensive rats and to clarify its usefulness
for treating hypertensive conditions.
Systolic blood pressure and heart rate were measured by tail cuff method in
hypertensive rats and normal rats two hours after a single oral administration of C.
asiatica juice – at doses of 16, 24, and 32 g/kg – or 25 mg/kg captopril for the
positive control group. For the group receiving the 32 g/kg dose, both the cutaneous
and cerebral blood flows were measured by laser Doppler flowmetry under
anesthetic condition two hours after the administration. During the regional cerebral
blood flow determination, the systolic and diastolic blood pressures were
simultaneously being measured via femoral artery.
C. asiatica juice at the doses of 24 and 32 g/kg significantly decreased systolic
blood pressure only in hypertensive rats, while captopril decreased systolic blood
pressure in both normal and hypertensive rats. C. asiatica juice lowered the heart
rate in hypertensive rats, with increasing effects as the dose increased. In normal
rats, only the 32 g/kg dose decreased the heart rate. In hypertensive rats, C. asiatica
juice lowered systolic blood pressure less than did captopril and for a shorter length
of time, and its maximum effect was more quickly achieved. C. asiatica also
decreased the heart rate, while captopril did not.
The 32 g/kg dose of C. asiatica juice significantly increased cutaneous blood
flow as well as regional cerebral blood flow in both normal and hypertensive rats,
but the effect was greater in the latter. Both systolic and diastolic blood pressure
decreased with the increase in blood flow.
This study reveals that increasingly higher oral doses of C. asiatica juice make
the heart beat slower, lower blood pressure, and improve local blood flow in
hypertensive rats, but only have a slight effect in normal rats.