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Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Isolation of Primary Patient-specific Aortic Smooth Muscle Cells and Semiquantitative Real-time Contraction Measurements In Vitro
Published on: February 15, 2022
Calcium-antagonist effects of quercetin on aortic smooth muscle
1Pharmacology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de Chile, Santiago.
Abstract:
Relaxation induced by quercetin was studied on aortic rings depolarized with KCl and on Ca2+ dependent aortic contraction. Quercetin's actions as a cyclooxygenase inhibitor were compared with those of indomethacin. To determine the possible effects of quercetin on internal Ca2+ mobilization, it was assayed on aortic muscle contracted with caffeine. Quercetin relaxes aortic smooth muscle contracted with KCl (RC50 = 1.8 x 10(-4) M) and induces a rightward displacement of Ca2+ curves. The relaxation induced by quercetin is higher than that produced by indomethacin, suggesting that its action is independent of cyclooxygenase inhibition. Caffeine-induced aortic contraction was not modified by quercetin, suggesting that its effect should not involve internal calcium modulation. Our results further support the thesis that the spasmolytic action of quercetin arises from its negative modulation of calcium entry to the smooth muscle.
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