[Effect of astragalus on calcium accumulation and SERCA2a gene expression in myocardial tissues in rats with pressure overload-induced left ventricular hypertrophy].

Objective: To investigate the effect of astragalus (As) on calcium accumulation and SERCA2a gene expression in left ventricular tissues in rats with pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy.

Method: cardiac hypertrophy was induced by clipping the abdominal aorta in rats. Male SD rats were allocated to six groups: sham-operrated (Sham), aortic stenosis (Model), model +As-L (5 g x kg(-1) x d(-1)), model+As-M (10 g x kg(-1) x d(-1)), model+As-H (20 g x kg(-1) x d(-1)) and model + captopril (0.