<i>Chamaecyparis lawsoniana</i> and Its Active Compound Quercetin as Ca<sup>2+</sup> Inhibitors in the Contraction of Airway Smooth Muscle

oleh: Edgar Flores-Soto, Bianca S. Romero-Martínez, Héctor Solís-Chagoyán, Edgar A. Estrella-Parra, Jose G. Avila-Acevedo, Juan C. Gomez-Verjan, Jorge Reyes-García, María F. Casas-Hernández, Bettina Sommer, Luis M. Montaño

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2024-05-01

Deskripsi

The <i>Cupressaceae</i> family includes species considered to be medicinal. Their essential oil is used for headaches, colds, cough, and bronchitis. Cedar trees like <i>Chamaecyparis lawsoniana</i> (<i>C. lawsoniana</i>) are commonly found in urban areas. We investigated whether <i>C. lawsoniana</i> exerts some of its effects by modifying airway smooth muscle (ASM) contractility. The leaves of <i>C. lawsoniana</i> (363 g) were pulverized mechanically, and extracts were obtained by successive maceration 1:10 (<i>w</i>:<i>w</i>) with methanol/CHCl<sub>3</sub>. Guinea pig tracheal rings were contracted with KCl, tetraethylammonium (TEA), histamine (HIS), or carbachol (Cch) in organ baths. In the Cch experiments, tissues were pre-incubated with D-600, an antagonist of L-type voltage-dependent Ca<sup>2+</sup> channels (L-VDCC) before the addition of <i>C. lawsoniana</i>. Interestingly, at different concentrations, <i>C. lawsoniana</i> diminished the tracheal contractions induced by KCl, TEA, HIS, and Cch. In ASM cells, <i>C. lawsoniana</i> significantly diminished L-type Ca<sup>2+</sup> currents. ASM cells stimulated with Cch produced a transient Ca<sup>2+</sup> peak followed by a sustained plateau maintained by L-VDCC and store-operated Ca<sup>2+</sup> channels (SOCC). <i>C. lawsoniana</i> almost abolished this last response. These results show that <i>C. lawsoniana</i>, and its active metabolite quercetin, relax the ASM by inhibiting the L-VDCC and SOCC; further studies must be performed to obtain the complete set of metabolites of the extract and study at length their pharmacological properties.