Effect of Hydroxyethylrutosides on Blood Oxygen Levels and Venous Insufficiency Symptoms in Varicose Veins

Abstract

SummaryOxygen levels (tension, saturation, and content) in blood from varicose leg veins were found to be significantly lower than those in blood from normal leg Paroven, the product used, is a mixture mainly of mono-, di-, tri-, and tetra-O-(3-hydroxyethyl) rutosides containing not less than 45% troxerutin, the approved name of the principle compound tri-O-(/3-hydroxyethyl) rutoside. Hydroxyethylrutosides have been reported to relieve leg symptoms associated with varicose veins (Fitzgerald, 1967;Allen, 1970;Rose, 1970) and to accelerate healing of varicose ulcers (Ghittoni and Martini, 1967). The precise mode of action of hydroxyethylrutosides when tissue microcirculation is embarrassed by venous stasis and venous hypertension is uncertain, but experimental studies indicated that its principal effect is on capillary and venule function and that it is not a vasodilator. Enhanced capillary resistance (Foelsche, 1968), reduced capillary permeability (Harrison, 1967), reduction of oedema (Fabre and Rudhardt, 1962), and augmented venous return (Pfister and Lindner, 1967)

The Effect ofO-(β-Hydroxyethyl)-Rutoside (HR) on Macromolecular Leakage, Thrombosis and Haemostasis in Experimental Animals

“…In the sodium morrhuate model HR decreased the frequency of thrombosis although not significant (p=O.O7) if the animals were treated three days. An effect on the vessel wall can not be excluded, as assumption which is supported by some clinical results (18).…”

Venous Hypoxia: A Poorly Studied Etiological Factor of Varicose Veins

“…However, findings from these studies have been inconsistent as some studies demonstrated a lower oxygen content in blood from varicose compared to non-varicose veins [19,20,21], whereas others showed no significant differences [22,23,24,25,26]. Paradoxically, some studies even reported higher oxygen content in blood of varicose than non-varicose veins [22,23,27,28,29].…”

“…These improvements in varicose vein oxygenation were also associated with symptomatic relief in this patient group [19]. However, the findings of this study should be interpreted with caution as patients were not randomized, neither patients nor clinicians were blinded, and the timing of venepuncture was not matched between the study groups.…”

“…One clinical study reported that patients who took hydroxyethylrutosides (Paroven™) 250 mg, a flavonoid, 4 times a day for 4 weeks showed significant improvements in the PO 2 and saturation of blood sampled from varicose veins compared to initial levels [19]. These improvements in varicose vein oxygenation were also associated with symptomatic relief in this patient group [19].…”

“…The most commonly studied group of pharmacological agents in this context has been the venoactive drugs such as flavonoids [19,41,55,57,62]. Venoactive drugs are often derived from plant extracts, and their therapeutic actions include increased venous tone, reduced vein wall inflammation and decreased capillary permeability [6,63].…”