Red sage extract may have therapeutic activity in reducing hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Effects of Salvia miltiorrhiza extracts on rat hypoxic pulmonary hypertension, heme oxygenase-1 and nitric oxide synthase.
Chin Med J (Engl). 2003 May;116(5):757-60. PMID: 12875696
Department of Pathology, Fuwai Cardiovascular Hospital, Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100037, China.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of Salvia miltiorrhiza (SM) extracts on the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in small pulmonary arteries (SPAs) of rats with chronic hypoxia. METHODS: After two weeks of hypoxia, rats were treated with diltiazem, and small, median, and large doses of SM extracts. The lungs were tested for the expression and distribution of HO-1, endothelial NOS (eNOS) and inducible NOS (iNOS) by using immunohistochemistry and Western blot method. RESULTS: Median and large doses of SM extracts significantly reduced hypoxia-induced media thickening in the SPAs (similar with diltiazem), recovered repaired ultrastructure injury, decreased HO-1 and iNOS levels, and increased eNOS expression in the SPAs. CONCLUSIONS: Median and large doses of SM extracts play significant roles in inhibiting structural remodeling in rats with hypoxic pulmonary hypertension. These effects might attribute to the suppression of HO-1 and iNOS, and the promotion of eNOS expression under the conditions of hypoxia.
