ABSTRACT
Objective:To study the effects of various extracts of Tongkat Ali on uric acid excretion and renal function in rats with hyperuricemia. Methods:Totally 60 male Wistar rats were equally divided into the blank group,the model group,the positive control group,chloroform group,ethyl acetate group and n-butanol group. The rats were fed with yeast extract,adenine and potassium oxonate to make the model of hyperuricemia. After the animal model was made successfully,the other groups continued to give the modeling a-gent except for the blank group,and the other groups were given the corresponding medicine except for the model group after giving the modeling agent for one hour. After the model agent was given for 14 days,the levels of uric acid(UA),urea nitrogen(UN) and cre-atinine (Cr) in serum and urine and the activity of xanthine oxidase (XOD) in serum and liver were measured. Results: Compared with those in the model group,the levels of uric acid in chloroform group and n-butanol group were significantly lower than those in the model group (P<0.05),besides,the levels of uric acid and creatinine in urine in chloroform group and n-butanol group significantly increased (P<0.05). Compared with that in the model group,the XOD activity of chloroform group and n-butanol group significantly decreased (P<0.01). Compared with those in the positive control group,the levels of UA,Cr and UN in serum and urine and the ac-tivity of XOD in serum and liver in chloroform group, ethyl acetate group and n-butanol group had no significant differences (P >0.05). The levels of UA,Cr and UN in serum and urine and the activity of XOD in serum and liver in chloroform group,ethyl acetate group and n-butanol group had no significant differences (P>0.05). Conclusion: The chloroform extract and n-butanol extract in Tongkat Ali can reduce the serum level of uric acid in rats with hyperuricemia induced by adenine, yeast extract and potassium ox-onate,and the function may be related with the activity inhibition of xanthine oxidase.
ABSTRACT
Atherosclerosis in cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a growing health problem, especially in developing countries. Hyperlipidemia is known as a dominant risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis. This study was designed to investigate the effects of Eurycoma Longifolia (EL) also known as Malaysian Ginseng/ Tongkat Ali on the testosterone level, biochemical changes of lipid profile and intima media thickness (IMT) in rats fed on high-fat diet. Twenty young, adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were housed for 12 weeks. After one week of acclimatization, they were randomly divided into four groups of 5 animals each and treated for 12 weeks as follow: Group ND was given only normal diet, group NDEL was given normal diet and EL extracts (15mg/kg) dissolved in distilled water, group HFD was given only high fat diet and group HFDEL was given high fat diet and EL extracts (15mg/kg). Rats which were treated with EL (NDEL and HFDEL) showed a significant increase (p<0.05) in the testosterone levels. There was a significant decrease (p<0.05) in triglyceride (TG) in HFDEL group compered to HFD group. The histological sections of aortas revealed a significant decrease (p<0.05) in IMT in HFDEL as compared with HFD group. No histological changes were observed in NDEL group compared with ND group and there was no significant difference in IMT values between NDEL and ND. These findings suggest that EL is a promising protective agent against atherosclerosis induced by high-fat diet.
ABSTRACT
Eurycoma longifolia (E. longifolia) which is better known locally as Tongkat Ali is an indigenous plant in Malaysia. It belongs to the family of Simaroubaceae and is popular as a traditional medicine for its aphrodisiac properties. Throughout the years, several studies have been conducted to prove its effect on aphrodisiac action, antimalarial, antibacterial and anxiolytic properties but its effect to the cardiovascular system had not been fully explored. This study was aimed to demonstrate the changes that take place in the isolated heart following the injection of the extract. Methods: Three parameters that were measured included the coronary perfusion pressure (CPP), the left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP) and the heart rate (HR). Eighteen isolated rat hearts were used and were divided equally into three groups. The first group was to observe the effect of Isoprenaline, a β agonist while the second group was to see the effect of sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a nitric oxide (NO) donor. The dose which gave the maximum effect for these two positive controls was used to compare with the effect of E. longifolia water extract in the third group of rats. Isolated heart was mounted using the Langendorff apparatus and perfused with modified Krebs-Henseleit buffer. Doses of controls and the extract were instilled through an injection port, and the effect of each dose was monitored. Results: E. longifolia extract was found to reduce the CPP in normotensive rat at two of the highest doses. A dose of 1.0 mg of the extract reduced the CPP significantly from 34.52 ± 4.99 mmHg of the baseline value to 31.99 ± 4.93 mmHg while the dose of 10.0 mg of the extract reduced the CPP significantly to 32.67 ± 3.89 mmHg. However, there were no significant changes of effect of the extract on the LVDP and HR as compared to control. Conclusion: These early findings suggest that E. longifolia extract may have vasodilatory property, which supports its traditional usage with minimum cardiovascular side effects.