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eCAM Advance Access published online on June 19, 2009
eCAM, doi:10.1093/ecam/nep056
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© 2009 The Author(s).
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Antihypertension Induced by Tanshinone IIA Isolated from the Roots of Salvia Miltiorrhiza

Paul Chan1, I-Min Liu2, Ying-Xiao Li3, Wen-Jen Yu4 and Juei-Tang Cheng5

1Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Taipei Medical University-Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei City, Taiwan 11601,2Department of Pharmacy, Tajen University, Yen-Pou, Ping Tung Shien, Taiwan 90701, ROC,3Department of Hematology, Guangzhou First Municipal People's Hospital, Guangzhou City, China,4Department of Biotechnology, Hung Kuang University, Sha Lu, Taichung Shien, Taiwan 43301 and 5Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City, Taiwan 70101, ROC

Tanshinone IIA is one of the active principles in danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge) widely used in treatment of cardiovascular disorders. We investigated the effect of danshen or tanshinone IIA on blood pressure and its possible mechanisms. An i.p. injection of danshen at 10 mg kg–1 significantly lowered systolic blood pressure (SBP) of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) but failed to modify the SBP in normotensive Wistar–Kyoto rats (WKY). Oral administration of tanshinone IIA also decreased SBP in SHR but not in WKY. Tanshinone IIA produced a concentration-dependent relaxation in isolated SHR aortic rings precontracted with phenylephrine (10 nmol l–1) or potassium chloride (KCl) (40 mmol l–1). The relaxing effect of tanshinone IIA on tonic contraction of phenylephrine in isolated aortic rings without endothelium remained produced. Glibenclamide at concentration sufficient to block adenosine triphosphatase (ATP)-sensitive potassium (K+) channel attenuated this tanshinone IIA-induced relaxation that was not influenced by other inhibitors. We further investigated the effect of tanshinone IIA on the changes of intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) in cultured aortic smooth muscle (A7r5) cells using fura-2 as indicator. Tanshinone IIA decreased [Ca2+]i elicited by phenylephrine (10 nmol l–1) or KCl (40 mmol l–1) in a concentration-dependent manner; glibenclamide, but not other inhibitors for K+ channel, abated this effect. Our results suggest that tanshinone IIA acts as an active principle of danshen showing vasodilation through ATP-sensitive K+ channel to lower [Ca2+]i.

Keywords: aortic rings – ATP-sensitive K+ channel – cultured aortic smooth muscle cells – danshen intracellular calcium concentrations – tanshinone IIA

For reprints and all correspondence: Prof Juei-Tang Cheng, Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City, Taiwan 70101, ROC. Tel: +886-6-331-8516; Fax: +886-6-238-6548; E-mail: jtcheng{at}mail.ncku.edu.tw

Received October 22, 2008; accepted May 7, 2009


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