Antihypertensive effects of ethanolic fruit extract of Acanthopanax sessiliflorus

Acanthopanax sessiliflorus (Araliaceae) is a shrub present mainly in Korea, China and Japan and is known to be one of the most abundant species. Acanthopanax species have been used as a tonic and prophylactic in oriental herbal medication from olden times [1]. Its fruits have been reported to have anti-tumor and immuno-stimulating activities [2, 3]. In this study, the ethanolic extracts from the fruits of Acanthopnax sessiliflorus (ASF) were evaluated on antihypertensive effects in vivo/ex vivo/in vitro. In the in vivo study, spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHRs) were treated with ASF (200, 400 or 600 mg/kg/day) or captopril (100 mg/kg/day) for 4 weeks. The systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured every 7 days using the tail-cuff plethysmography. Oral administration of ASF reduced SBP and DBP in SHRs in dose-dependent and time-dependent manner.