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Marjoram Relaxes Rat Thoracic Aorta Via a PI3-K/eNOS/cGMP Pathway
oleh: Adnan Badran, Elias Baydoun, Ali Samaha, Gianfranco Pintus, Joelle Mesmar, Rabah Iratni, Khodr Issa, Ali H. Eid
Format: | Article |
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Diterbitkan: | MDPI AG 2019-06-01 |
Deskripsi
Despite pharmacotherapeutic advances, cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the primary cause of global mortality. Alternative approaches, such as herbal medicine, continue to be sought to reduce this burden. <i>Origanum majorana</i> is recognized for many medicinal values, yet its vasculoprotective effects remain poorly investigated. Here, we subjected rat thoracic aortae to increasing doses of an ethanolic extract of <i>Origanum majorana</i> (OME). OME induced relaxation in a dose-dependent manner in endothelium-intact rings. This relaxation was significantly blunted in denuded rings. N(ω)-nitro-<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">l</span>-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) or 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3,-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ) significantly reduced the OME-induced vasorelaxation. Cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) levels were also increased by OME. Moreover, wortmannin or LY294002 significantly reduced OME-induced vasorelaxation. Blockers of ATP-sensitive or Ca<sup>2+</sup>-activated potassium channels such as glibenclamide or tetraethylamonium (TEA), respectively, did not significantly affect OME-induced relaxation. Similarly, verapamil, a Ca<sup>2+</sup> channel blocker, indomethacin, a non-selective cyclooxygenase inhibitor, and pyrilamine, a H1 histamine receptor blocker, did not significantly modulate the observed relaxation. Taken together, our results show that OME induces vasorelaxation via an endothelium-dependent mechanism involving the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-K)/ endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase (eNOS)/cGMP pathway. Our findings further support the medicinal value of marjoram and provide a basis for its beneficial intake. Although consuming marjoram may have an antihypertensive effect, further studies are needed to better determine its effects in different vascular beds.