Treatment with an extract of Terminalia superba Engler & Diels decreases blood pressure and improves endothelial function in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The stem bark of Terminalia superba (TS) is widely used as a decoction by Cameroonian folk medicine for the treatment of hypertension. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of a chronic treatment with a TS extract on spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) with respect to efficacy, biochemical mechanisms and safety.

Materials And Methods: Eleven-week-old SHR and normotensive Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY) were daily treated by gavage with a methylene chloride extract of stem bark of Terminalia superba (TMSE, 150mg/kg) or with the vehicle for 5 weeks.

Misregulation of the arginase pathway in tissues of spontaneously hypertensive rats.

There is a growing evidence that arginase has a role in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases including hypertension. We recently reported arginase upregulation in aortas from hypertensive spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). The aim of this study was to determine whether arginase abnormalities occur in other tissues of SHR, including the target organs of hypertension.