[A comparative study of the protective effect of different phlebotonic agents on endothelial cells in hypoxia]

Numerous reported findings indicate that the etiology of venous diseases is multifactorial. One of the chief factors is certainly stasis of blood in the veins of the lower limbs during long periods spent standing up. This stasis causes tissue hypoxia which first affects the venous wall. Because of their location at the interface between blood and vein wall and because of their fragility, endothelial cells are the first to suffer from the lack of oxygen. With the aim of understanding these events, the authors have developed a model of endothelial cells in culture subjected to hypoxia in vitro which mimics the conditions encountered clinically. This model has enabled us to test various drugs commonly used in venous disease. These included GbE, the active ingredient of GINKOR FORT, diosmin and procyanidol oligomers. It was thus shown that only GbE was not toxic to endothelial cells. GbE was also found to be capable of effectively protecting cells exposed to hypoxia. Protection under the influence of diosmin was obtained only at concentrations very close to toxic doses. In contrast, procyanidol oligomers offered no protection. The protective effect of GbE is believed to be due to the action of terpenes on the energy metabolism of the cell.