اثر عصاره آبي ريشه ختمي (L. Althaea officinalis) بر فعاليت انقباضي ناي جدا شده موش صحرايي

Effect of aqueous extract of Althaea root on tracheal smooth muscle in rat

Background and aim: Since the spasm of the air ways is a very common syndrome in human communities, the study of factors affecting contractile activity of the tracheal muscles can be helpful in the control of pulmonary obstructive diseases. Therefor; this study was designed to determine the effect of aqueous extract of Althea root on tracheal smooth muscle in rat. Methods: In an experimental study tracheas (N: 30, 5mm) from healthy male rats (N: 15, Sprague Dawley, 200-250 gr) were dissected and their contractions were recorded isotonically under one gram tension in an organ bath containing Kerebs-hancelit solution in 6 groups (N:5). T-test, and one and two-way ANOVA were used to compare the results. Results: Epinephrine (5µm) alone and extract cumulative concentrations (0.2, 0.6, 2.6, 6.6, 14.6 µg/ml) reduced the tracheal smooth muscle contractions induced by KCl (60 mM) dose-dependently (ANOVA, P<0.001). The antispasmodic effect of extract (8 μM) was not reduced by tissue pretreated with propranolol (1μM) but reduced the antispasmodic effect of epinephrine (5µm) (ANOVA, P<0.001). Conclusion: Aqueous extract of Althea root shows antispasmodic effects on tracheal smooth muscle in rat. It seems that β-adrenoceptors are not involved in this effect and can be helpful for drug produce in the control of pulmonary obstructive disease