A Novel Therapeutic Approach in the Treatment of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Allium ursinum Liophylisate Alleviates Symptoms Comparably to Sildenafil

Abstract

Right-sided heart failure—often caused by elevated pulmonary arterial pressure—is a chronic and progressive condition with particularly high mortality rates. Recent studies and our current findings suggest that components of Wild garlic (Allium ursinum, AU) may play a role in reducing blood pressure, inhibiting angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), as well as improving right ventricle function in rabbit models with heart failure. We hypothesize that AU may mitigate cardiovascular damage caused by pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and has value in the supplementary treatment of the complications of the disease. In this present investigation, PAH was induced by a single dose of monocrotaline (MCT) injection in Sprague-Dawley rats, and animals were divided into 4 treatment groups as follows: I. healthy control animals (Control group); II. pulmonary hypertensive rats (PAH group); III. pulmonary hypertensive rats + daily sildenafil treatment (Sildenafil group); and IV. pulmonary hypertensive rats + Wild garlic liophylisate-enriched chow (WGLL group), for 8 weeks. Echocardiographic measurements were obtained on the 0 and 8 weeks with fundamental and Doppler imaging. Isolated working heart method was used to determinate cardiac functions ex vivo after thoracotomy on the 8th week. Histological analyses were carried out on excised lung samples, and Western blot technique was used to determine Phosphodiesterase type 5 enzyme (PDE5) expression in both myocardial and pulmonary tissues. Our data demonstrate that right ventricle function measured by echocardiography was deteriorated in PAH animals compared to controls, which was counteracted by AU treatment. Isolated working heart measurements showed elevated aortic flow in WGLL group compared to PAH animals. Histological analysis revealed dramatic increase in medial wall thickness of pulmonary arteries harvested from PAH animals, but arteries of animals in sildenafil- and WGLL-treated groups showed physiological status. Our results suggest that bioactive compounds in Allium ursinum could have beneficial effects in pulmonary hypertension.

Long Term Osmotic Mini Pump Treatment with Alpha-MSH Improves Myocardial Function in Zucker Diabetic Fatty Rats

“…FS and EF of alpha-MSH-treated animals were significantly increased in comparison with values of ZDF control animals (FS: 32.33 ± 0.421% vs. 36.83 ± 0.703%; and EF: 66.50 ± 0.067% vs. 72.00 ± 0.774%, respectively). MAPSE values of MSH rats were maintained at the normal range [ 35 , 36 ], however, MAPSE was significantly deteriorated in ZDF control rats (2.268 ± 0.010 mm vs. 1.602 ± 0.045 mm). Diastolic function of the left ventricle was slightly improved in alpha-MSH-treated animals compared to ZDF Controls, demonstrated by a decrease in isovolumic relaxation time (58.00 ± 1.826 ms vs. 43.00 ± 1.125 ms).…”

“…Echocardiographic imaging was carried out according the protocol detailed previously by the authors [ 35 , 36 ]. Briefly, measurements were performed under intramuscular anaesthesia (ketamine 50 mg/kg, xylazine 5 mg/kg) at the baseline and at the endpoint of the study.…”

Upregulation of Myocardial and Vascular Phosphodiesterase 9A in A Model of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease

“…Aorta (root and ascending part), heart and liver samples (fixed in 4% neutral buffered formalin for 24 h) were further processed for histological evaluation as described previously [ 54 ]. Briefly, the tissues were embedded in paraffin and sectioned into 7 μm thick slices.…”

Protective Effect of Prunus Cerasus (Sour Cherry) Seed Extract on the Recovery of Ischemia/Reperfusion-Induced Retinal Damage in Zucker Diabetic Fatty Rat

“…Diabetic retinopathy [ 1 ], retinal vascular occlusion [ 2 ], and glaucoma [ 3 ] are some of the many diseases in which ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury or high blood glucose levels and the resulting deterioration of tissue microcirculatory capacity are major contributing factors. Dietary intake of phytonutrients—health-enhancing compounds found in plants—substantially reduces the risk of serious diseases and improves the effectiveness of therapy and outcome [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ], even in the case of ocular disorders [ 8 ]. Previously, the authors of this report carried out experiments with the flavonoid-rich extract of Prunus cerasus (sour cherry) seed (SCSE), an emerging functional food [ 9 ].…”