Effects of Erythrina senegalensis (Fabaceae) Stem Bark Aqueous Extract in Cardiovascular Complications on Hypertensive Diabetic Rat

Background and Aim: Cardiovascular complications are the main cause of morbidity and mortality in hypertensive diabetic patients. They develop due to microvasculopathy, myocardial hypertrophy and cardiac fibrosis. In the present study, the activity of aqueous extract of Erythrina senegalensis on cardiovascular complications in diabetic hypertensive rats was evaluated.

Experimental Procedure: The model of hypertensive diabetic rats was obtained by daily oral administration of sucrose (15%) and 40° ethanol at doses of 1.5 and 5 g/kg respectively for six weeks, followed by an intravenous injection of streptozotocin (35 mg/kg). After four weeks of complications, the diabetic hypertensive rats were divided into six groups of 5 animals each, and received the different treatments for four weeks where blood glucose level was taken weekly. At the end of the treatments, the animals were anaesthetised and the arterial pressures and electrocardiograph were recorded by the direct method. Then the aorta and heart were removed for biochemical calorimetric analysis and histological evaluation.

Results and Conclusion: In the diabetic hypertensive animals the results showed chronic hyperglycaemia associated with high blood pressure. On the electrocardiogram there was a cardiac arrhythmia manifested by a significant decrease in the duration of the PR, QRS, RR, QTc segments, ST interval, P, QRS and T waves, a decrease in the amplitude of the QRS and T waves. There was a significant increase in total cholesterol, triglyceride atherogenic index and a decrease in HDL-cholesterol with a change in the cardiac ionogram and oxidative status in the aorta and heart. The different treatments improved these parameters and cardiovascular function. These results suggest that the extract of E. senegalensis by the presence of several bioactive compounds would possess cardioprotective, hypoglycaemic, hypotensive and antioxidant properties.