The hypertension prophylactic effects of lotus seeds

Researchers from the Chongqing University of Education in China have found that alkaloids from ba lotus seeds (ALBS) can prevent the onset of hypertension. Their findings, which appeared in the Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines, investigated this effect in an L-NNA-induced mouse hypertension model.

• Earlier studies have established ABLS as a necessary functional compound in lotus seeds.
• In the study, the mice were given ABLS, while serum and tissue levels for nitric oxide (NO), malondialdehyde (MDA), endothelin 1 (ET-1), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) were obtained using experimental kits. To determine mRNA levels of certain genes in cardiac muscle and blood vessel tissues, the team used an RT-PCR assay.
• The findings revealed that mice treated with ABLS had lower systolic blood pressure (SBP), mean blood pressure (MBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) than the control group.
• In addition, while NO contents in serum, heart, liver, kidney, and stomach of the mice were higher, MDA levels were lower than that of control.
• ET-1 and VEGF serums levels also decreased after treatment. CGRP, on the other hand, increased.
• Mice treated with ABLS were also recorded to have higher expressions of HO-1, nNOS, and eNOS, and lower expressions of ADM, RAMP2, IL-1?, TNF-?, and iNOS than that of control.

The researchers concluded that the hypertension-protective effects of ABLS could be useful in developing future alternative medicine or functional food.

Learn more about herbs used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat hypertension at ChineseMedicine.news.

Journal Reference:

Sun P, Zhu K, Wang C, Liu WW, Peng D-G, Zhao X. PROPHYLACTIC EFFECTS OF ALKALOIDS FROM BA LOTUS SEEDS ON L-NNA-INDUCED HYPERTENSION IN MICE. Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines. 2016;14(11):835–843. DOI: 10.1016/S1875-5364(16)30100-5