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Effects of Hawthorn on the Progression of Heart Failure in a Rat Model of Aortic Constriction
Author(s) -
Hwang Hyun Seok,
Boluyt Marvin O.,
Converso Kimber,
Russell Mark W.,
Bleske Barry E.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
pharmacotherapy: the journal of human pharmacology and drug therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.227
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1875-9114
pISSN - 0277-0008
DOI - 10.1592/phco.29.6.639
Subject(s) - constriction , medicine , cardiology , aorta , pressure overload , heart failure , cardiac hypertrophy
Study Objective. To determine the effects of hawthorn ( Crataegus oxycantha ) on left ventricular remodeling and function in pressure overload‐induced heart failure in an animal model. Design. Randomized, parallel, dose‐ranging animal study. Setting. University research facility. Animals. Seventy‐four male Sprague‐Dawley rats; 44 were included in the final analysis. Intervention. Rats underwent a sham operation or aortic constriction. Rats subjected to the sham operation were treated with vehicle (10% agar‐agar), and those subjected to aortic constriction were treated with vehicle or hawthorn ( C. oxycantha special extract WS 1442) 1.3, 13, or 130 mg/kg for 5 months. Measurements and Main Results. Rats and their hearts were weighed, and echocardiographic measurements were performed at baseline and at 2, 3, 4, and 5 months after aortic constriction. Protein expression for markers of fibrosis and for atrial natriuretic factor was also measured. Aortic constriction increased the left ventricular:body weight ratio by 53% in vehicle‐treated rats; Hawthorn treatment did not significantly affect the aortic constriction‐induced increase in this ratio. Left ventricular volumes and dimensions at systole and diastole significantly increased 5 months after aortic constriction compared with baseline in rats given vehicle (> 20% increase, p<0.05) but not in those given hawthorn 130 mg/kg (< 10% increase). After aortic constriction, the velocity of circumferential shortening significantly decreased in the vehicle group but not in the medium‐ or high‐dose groups. In the aortic constriction‐vehicle group, the induced increases in messenger RNA expression for atrial natriuretic factor (∼1000%) and fibronectin (∼80%) were significantly attenuated by highdose hawthorn treatment by approximately 80% and 50%, respectively. Conclusion. Hawthorn treatment exhibited modest beneficial effects on cardiac remodeling and function during long‐term, pressure overload‐induced heart failure in rats.