Antioxidant Properties and Vasorelaxant Mechanism of Aqueous Extract (Euphorbiaceae).

is a plant of the Euphorbiaceae family, used in traditional medicine to treat numerous diseases, including high blood pressure. The aim of this study is to evaluate the antioxidant and vasorelaxant effects of the aqueous extract of the stem bark of . The pharmacological studies were carried out using the aqueous extract obtained by infusion. The antioxidant capacity of was assessed by in vitro tests with DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl), ABTS (2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenz-thiazoline-6-sulfonic acid), iron-reducing capacity (FRAP), and inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) release. In vitro studies, the aortic rings obtained from adult Wistar albino rats of both sexes were used to determine the vasorelaxant effects of the extract of on the NO and prostacyclin (PGI2) pathways as well as its involvement on various potassium channels were determined on intact or naked fragments of rat aorta precontracted with phenylephrine (10 M) or KCl (60 mM). The aqueous extract of exhibited a remarkable DPPH (EC: 1.68 g/mL) and ABTS (EC: 106.30 g/mL) and nitric oxide (53.71% inhibition at 1000 g/mL) radical scavenging activities as well as reducing power (absorbance of 1.56 at 1000 g/mL). The nitric oxide inhibitor, N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), and prostacyclin inhibitor, indomethacin, significantly attenuated the vasodilatory effect of . Tetraethylammonium could not inhibit the vasodilatory effect of the extract, unlike glibenclamide and barium chloride. extract possesses antioxidant properties and vasorelaxing effect linked to endothelium-related factors, and this relaxation was partially mediated mainly through the inhibition of K and K channels.