Abstract

The dried roots of Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza) and Sanchi (Panax notoginseng) have been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine for promoting blood circulation as well as various other bodily functions. Here we investigated the effects of a mixture of aqueous extracts of Danshen and Sanchi, named PASEL, on blood pressure and vascular contractility in rats. Orally administered PASEL (62.5 mg/kg and 250 mg/kg, for 5 weeks) lowered the blood pressure of spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHR) but this was not observed in normal Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKR). We then investigated the effects of PASEL on the arterial contraction of the small branches of cerebral arteries (CAs) and large conduit femoral arteries (FAs) in rats. PASEL did not affect high-K (KCl 60 mM)- or phenyleprine (PhE)-induced contracture of FAs. The myogenic response, a reactive arterial constriction in response to increased luminal pressure, of small CA was dose-dependently suppressed by PASEL in SHR as well as control rats. Interestingly, the KCl-induced contraction of small CAs was slowly reversed by PASEL, and this effect was more prominent in SHR than control WKR. PASEL did not inhibit angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity. These results demonstrated that the antihypertensive effect of PASEL might be primarily mediated by altering the arterial MR, not by direct inhibition of L-type Ca(2+) channels or by ACE inhibition.