Antihypertensive constituents in Sanoshashinto

• Published in: Journal of natural medicines 2020-03, Vol.74 (2), p.421-433
• Main Authors: Wu, Jianbo, Nakashima, Souichi, Shigyo, Marina, Yamasaki, Mutsumi, Ikuno, Sumire, Morikawa, Aoi, Takegami, Shigehiko, Nakamura, Seikou, Konishi, Atsuko, Kitade, Tatsuya, Matsuda, Hisashi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Antihypertensive Agents - pharmacology; Antihypertensives; Aorta; Baicalin; Berberine; Berberine - pharmacology; Berberine - therapeutic use; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Blood pressure; Blood Pressure - drug effects; Complementary & Alternative Medicine; Cyclic GMP; Drugs, Chinese Herbal - pharmacology; Drugs, Chinese Herbal - therapeutic use; Flavonoids - pharmacology; Flavonoids - therapeutic use; High-performance liquid chromatography; Male; Medicinal Chemistry; Menthol - pharmacology; Menthol - therapeutic use; Methanol; Norepinephrine; Organic chemicals; Original Paper; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Pharmacy; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Plant Extracts - therapeutic use; Plant Sciences; Potassium chloride; Principal Component Analysis - methods; Rats
• ISSN: 1340-3443; 1861-0293
• DOI: 10.1007/s11418-019-01382-9

It has been reported that Sanoshashinto (SanHuangXieXinTang, 三黃瀉心湯), which is composed of Rhei Rhizoma, Scutellariae Radix, and Coptidis Rhizoma, exhibits vasorelaxant effects in vitro and lowers blood pressure of patients. Based on this discovery, in this study, a mixture containing those three materials and combinations of them were extracted with methanol, and the extracts were fractionated into different parts. Effects of all extracts and fractions on high concentration of potassium chloride (High K + )- or noradrenaline (NA)-induced contractions of isolated rat aortic rings or helical strips were examined. Qualitative and quantitative HPLC analyses of the extracts and the fractions revealed that the contents of baicalin and berberine in Sanoshashinto methanol extract (SHXXTM) were higher than those of the other constituents. All pharmacological and HPLC data were analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA) software and the results indicated that baicalin, berberine, palmatine, baicalein, and wogonoside contributed significantly to the pharmacological activity. Furthermore, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) that were orally given SHXXTM or a baicalin–berberine combination showed significantly reduced increase in the rate of systolic blood pressure (SBP) compared to the control group. These findings suggested that Sanoshashinto has significant vasorelaxant effects in vitro and antihypertensive effects in vivo, and baicalin and berberine, which were the principal constituents of Scutellariae Radix and Coptidis Rhizoma, were the main antihypertensive constituents in Sanoshashinto. It was speculated that baicalin and berberine produced vasorelaxant effects by activating the NO/cGMP pathway and that the BK Ca channel and the DAG/PKC/CPI-17 pathway were also involved.