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GINKGO BILOBA EXTRACT CAUSES DECREASE IN HEART RATE IN AGED SPONTANEOUSLY HYPERTENSIVE RATS
Author(s) -
Kubota Y,
Kagota S,
Tada Y,
Nejime N,
Nakamura K,
Kunitomo M,
Umegaki K,
Shinozuka K
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
clinical and experimental pharmacology and physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1440-1681
pISSN - 0305-1870
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1681.2007.04776.x
Subject(s) - ginkgo biloba , medicine , nitric oxide , endocrinology , heart rate , bradycardia , ingestion , mesenteric arteries , soluble guanylyl cyclase , guanylate cyclase , blood pressure , pharmacology , artery
SUMMARY1 We previously reported that Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) improves cardiovascular function in young spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). In the present study, changes in the cardiovascular parameters of aged SHR were examined following a 4‐week diet of GBE. 2 Feeding with GBE significantly decreased the heart rate and blood flow velocity in the tails of aged SHR. The contractile and relaxation responses were unchanged in isolated aortas and mesenteric arteries of aged SHR fed the GBE diet. The GBE diet did not influence the protein levels of endothelial nitric oxide synthase or soluble guanylyl cyclase in the aortas. 3 These findings indicate that in aged SHR, the ingestion of GBE may cause bradycardia without a beneficial effect on the vascular relaxation response. Intake of GBE as a supplement in elderly hypertensive patients should be carefully monitored.