Hypotensive activity, toxicology and histopathology of different extracts of Berberis vulgaris

Abstract

A number of plants have been used widely in the traditional system of medicine or Tibb-e-Unani (Unani medicine) in the management of many diseases but these mostly, have not been investigated for their described effects. In this study, the hypotensive, toxicology and histological activities were studied in normotensive albino rats at different doses of ethanolic extract of root pulp (BRE) and aqueous extract of root pulp (BRD). The receptor activity was assessed by using the drugs acetylcholine (Ach) and atropine (Atr) on rat heart. Administration of different extracts (BRE and BRD) showed significant reduction in blood pressure comparable to its respective control. While on pre-treatment with Atr (10-4 M) the BRE (10 mg/kg) and BRD (20 mg/kg) did not produce any reduction in blood pressure. These behavior matches exactly to that of acetylcholine (1 µg/kg). The results confirmed that oral and intraperitoneal administration of BRE does not indicate any structural and functional disturbance of liver, heart and kidney up to the dose 100 mg/kg. While, 1000 mg/kg appeared as lethal dose (LD) and all mice died at the interval of 24 h. In conclusion, different extract of BRE used in this study caused hypotensive effect by stimulating non-selective muscarinic receptors. The toxicological, hematological and histopathological results further confirm the safety of BRE up to the dose of 100 mg/kg. Key