Effect of Korean red ginseng on blood pressure and nitric oxide production
摘要
AIM: To investigate the effect of crude saponin and non-saponin fraction of Korean red ginseng (KRG) on the blood pressure and nitric oxide (NO) production in the conscious rats and cultured endothelial cell line, ECV 304 cells. METHODS: Systolic blood pressure and heart rate were monitored in the conscious rats. Nitric oxide levels and the expression of nitric oxide synthase were measured by a spectrophotometric assay using Griess reagents and Western blotting, respectively. Nitric-oxide synthase activity was measured based on the conversion rate of [3H]arginine to [3H]citrulline. RESULTS: Systolic blood pressure was decreased by crude saponin (100 mg/kg, iv) of KRG in the conscious control and one-kidney, one-clip Goldblatt hypertensive (IK, 1C-GBH) rats. The hypotensive effect induced by crude saponin of KRG reached maximum at 2 - 4 min and slowly recovered after 20 min to the initial level in both groups. Crude saponin of KRG induced tachycardia in the conscious rats but induced bradycardia in the a