Beneficial effects of ethanol extracts of Red Liriope platyphylla on vascular dysfunction in the aorta of spontaneously hypertensive rats / 한국실험동물학회지

Some biological effects of Red Liriope platyphylla (RLP) on various chronic diseases including Alzheimer's disease, diabetes and obesity were suggested after a report of the production from Liriope platyphylla (L. platyphylla, LP) roots using a steaming process. To examine the beneficial effects of ethanol extracts RLP (EEtRLP) on the vascular dysfunction of hypertension, alterations in key factors related to vascular regulation and antioxidant conditions were investigated in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) after EEtRLP treatment for 2 weeks. High levels of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity were detected in 500 or 1,000 mg/mL EEtRLP. Although no significant improvement of systolic blood pressure or aortic wall thickness were observed in the EEtRLP treated group, the expression level of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and ACE2 increased significantly after EEtRLP treatment. Moreover, the concentration of aldosterone and K ion in serum rapidly recovered in the EEtRLP treated group relative to the vehicle treated group. Furthermore, the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) expression and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were significantly increased in the EEtRLP treated group relative to the vehicle treated group, while the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) and NOx in the serum of the same group were recovered to the level of Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats. Overall, the results presented herein provide novel evidence that EEtRLP treatment may improve vascular dysfunction in the aorta of the SHR through up regulation of the antioxidant state and down regulation of aldosterone and K ion concentration. These results also suggest that EEtRLP may be a potential candidate for treatment of various chronic diseases showing vascular dysfunction.

Metabolomics approach to serum biomarker for loperamide-induced constipation in SD rats / 한국실험동물학회지

Loperamide has long been known as an opioid-receptor agonist useful as a drug for treatment of diarrhea resulting from gastroenteritis or inflammatory bowel disease as well as to induce constipation. To determine and characterize putative biomarkers that can predict constipation induced by loperamide treatment, alteration of endogenous metabolites was measured in the serum of Sprague Dawley (SD) rats treated with loperamide for 3 days using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectral data. The amounts and weights of stool and urine excretion were significantly lower in the loperamide-treated group than the No-treated group, while the thickness of the villus, crypt layer, and muscle layer was decreased in the transverse colon of the same group. The concentrations of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatinine (Cr) were also slightly changed in the loperamide-treated group, although most of the serum components were maintained at a constant level. Furthermore, pattern recognition of endogenous metabolites showed completely separate clustering of the serum analysis parameters between the No-treated group and loperamide-treated group. Among 35 endogenous metabolites, four amino acids (alanine, glutamate, glutamine and glycine) and six endogenous metabolites (acetate, glucose, glycerol, lactate, succinate and taurine) were dramatically decreased in loperamide-treated SD rats. These results provide the first data pertaining to metabolic changes in SD rats with loperamide-induced constipation. Additionally, these findings correlate the changes in 10 metabolites with constipation.