Antioxidant and vasorelaxant effects of aqueous extract of large cardamom in L-NAME induced hypertensive rats.

Purpose: The present work aimed to study the effect of aqueous extract of large cardamom (AELC) to prevent vascular remodeling and oxidative stress in N-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME)-induced hypertension.

Method: Male Wistar rats were administered with L-NAME 40 mg/kg/day for 28 days by oral gavage. The treatments included captopril (20 mg/kg/day) or AELC (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg/day) along with L-NAME administration.

Results: L-NAME treated rats showed high systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressure, decreased nitric oxide level, increased level of malondialdehyde in plasma, heart, aorta and kidney, hypertrophy of the vascular wall and reduced vascular response to acetylcholine in phenylephrine-precontracted aorta. Treatment with AELC markedly reduced the blood pressure, restored the nitric oxide level, reduced the malondialdehyde level, alleviated the hypertrophy in L-NAME-induced hypertensive rats. Additionally, it also improved the vascular response to acetylcholine in phenylephrine pre-contracted aorta.

Conclusion: In conclusion, our results demonstrate the preventive effect of AELC in L-NAME-induced hypertensive model, which is possibly related to antioxidant activities and restoration of nitric oxide level.