Gomisin A from Schisandra chinensis Induces Endothelium-Dependent and Direct Relaxation in Rat Thoracic Aorta

Abstract

Schisandra chinensis (SC), a member of the Magnoliaceae family, has been used to improve the vascular health for postmenopausal women in Korea. In order to provide some scientific rationales for such effectiveness, this study investigated the vascular effects of gomisin A (GA) from SC. In the endothelium (ED)-intact rings of rat thoracic aorta, GA (1 x 10 (-6) to 3 x 10 (-4) M) caused a concentration-dependent relaxation which was markedly attenuated not only by removal of ED but also by pretreatment with N(G)-nitro- L-arginine (10 (-4) M) or 1 H-[1,2,4]oxadiazol[4,3- a]quinoxalin-1-one (3 x 10 (-5) M). Direct measurement of nitrite, a metabolite of nitric oxide (NO), confirmed that NO production in isolated aorta was increased by GA. In the ED-denuded specimens, the relaxation by GA was not abolished but reduced significantly. The relaxation by GA in ED-denuded aortic rings were clearly inhibited by calyculin A (3 x 10 (-8) M), an inhibitor of MLC phosphatase. Furthermore, the phenylephrine-enhanced phosphorylation ratio of MLC was significantly attenuated by GA. Based on these results, it is suggested that GA induced vascular relaxation by partially activating ED-dependent NO pathway, and partially dephosphorylation of MLC.

The Molecular Mechanisms of the Hepatoprotective Effect of Gomisin A against Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Response in Rats with Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Acute Liver Injury

“…Interestingly, a number of studies have shown that gomisin A has various pharmacological functions, including enhancement of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-induced apoptosis, vascular relaxation, memory improvement, reduction of neuronal damage, and improvement of insulin sensitivity. [8][9][10][11][12] In addition, gomisin A showed a hepatoprotective effect in various animal models of hepatotoxicity including CCl 4 , acetaminophen and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as well as promoting liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy. [13][14][15][16] However, the precise molecular mechanism of the hepatoprotective effects has not been comprehensively explored.…”

Gomisin N isolated from Schisandra chinensis significantly induces anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects in hepatic carcinoma

“…Subsequently, four lignans that were extracted in large quantities compared to the other lignans were harvested. The structure of these lignans was determined by LC-MS and NMR analysis, and the lignans were identified as gomisin n (16), schisandrin (17), schisandrin c (16) and gomisin A (18,19) (Fig. 1).…”

Therapeutic Effects of Lignans and Blend Isolated from Schisandra chinesis on Hepatic Carcinoma

“…First, they extracted lignans including gomisin N (Seo et al, 2004), schisandrin (Ikeya et al, 1979a), schisandrin C (Seo et al, 2004) and gomisin A (Ikeya et al, 1979b;Park et al, 2007) from S. chinensis via n-hexane, EtOAc and MeOH extraction techniques. Their structures were analyzed via LC-MS and NMR analysis for identification.…”