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Ginsenosides evoke endothelium-dependent vascular relaxation in rat aorta
N D Kim1, S Y Kang, V B Schini
1College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University, Korea.
Abstract:
1. Ginsenoside (10-100 mg/kg, i.v.) lowered blood pressure in a dose-dependent manner in rats. 2. Ginsenoside (10(-5)-3 x 10(-4) g/ml) relaxed the aorta after contractions were induced by 10(-6) M phenylephrine in the aorta with endothelium but not in that without endothelium. 3. The relaxation induced by ginsenoside was attenuated by 3 x 10(-7) M methylene blue (MB) and 10(-4) M NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) but not inhibited by 10(-5) M indomethacin. 4. Ginsenoside (10(-4) g/ml for 2 min) increased the accumulation of cGMP in rings with endothelium. L-NMMA and MB inhibited the accumulation of cGMP induced by ginsenoside. 5. These data suggest that vascular relaxations induced by ginsenoside are mediated by release of endothelium-drived nitric oxide which enhances the accumulation of cGMP.