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. 2022 Oct 29;15(11):1342.
doi: 10.3390/ph15111342.

Combined Effects of Methyldopa and Baicalein or Scutellaria baicalensis Roots Extract on Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, and Expression of Inflammatory and Vascular Disease-Related Factors in Spontaneously Hypertensive Pregnant Rats

Michał Szulc  1 , Radosław Kujawski  1 , Przemysław Ł Mikołajczak  1   2 , Anna Bogacz  3 , Marlena Wolek  3 , Aleksandra Górska  3 , Kamila Czora-Poczwardowska  1 , Marcin Ożarowski  4 , Agnieszka Gryszczyńska  2 , Justyna Baraniak  2 , Małgorzata Kania-Dobrowolska  2 , Artur Adamczak  5 , Ewa Iwańczyk-Skalska  6 , Paweł P Jagodziński  6 , Bogusław Czerny  7 , Adam Kamiński  8 , Izabela Uzar  7 , Agnieszka Seremak-Mrozikiewicz  9
Affiliations

Combined Effects of Methyldopa and Baicalein or Scutellaria baicalensis Roots Extract on Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, and Expression of Inflammatory and Vascular Disease-Related Factors in Spontaneously Hypertensive Pregnant Rats

Michał Szulc et al. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). .

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of baicalein or Scutellaria baicalensis root extract interaction with methyldopa in pregnant spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) at the pharmacodynamic, molecular, and biochemical levels. The rats, after confirming pregnancy, received baicalein (200 mg/kg/day, p.o.) and extract (1000 mg/kg/day, p.o.), in combination with methyldopa (400 mg/kg/day; p.o.), for 14 consecutive days, 1 h before blood pressure and heart rate measurements. In the heart and placenta from mothers after giving birth to their offspring, mRNA expression of factors related to inflammatory processes (TNF-α, Il-1β, IL-6) and vascular diseases (TGF-β, HIF-1α, VEGF, PlGF) was measured. Levels of markers of oxidative stress (superoxide dismutase and malondialdehyde) in the placenta and indicators of myocardial damage (troponin cTnC and cTnI, creatine kinase, myoglobin, and lactate dehydrogenase) in the heart were also assessed. Baicalein co-administered with methyldopa was associated with reduced blood pressure, especially during the first three days. The interactions were more pronounced for such factors as TGF-β, HIF-1α, VEGF, and PlGF than TNF-α, Il-1β, and IL-6. Combined application of baicalein and extract with methyldopa may be of value in the development of a new antihypertensive medication intended for patients suffering from preeclampsia or pregnancy-induced hypertension.

Keywords: Scutellaria baicalensis; baicalein; blood pressure; inflammatory and vascular factors; mRNA expression; methyldopa; oxidative stress; placenta.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Influence of methyldopa and its combination with baicalein or extract from Scutellaria baicalensis roots on morning systolic blood pressure (SBP) in SHR pregnant rats. Legend: n = 10, mean ± SEM; *—vs. WKY control, p < 0.05; #—vs. SHR control, p < 0.05; &—vs. SHR-methyldopa, p < 0.05.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Influence of methyldopa and its combination with baicalein or extract from Scutellaria baicalensis roots on morning diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in SHR pregnant rats. Legend: n = 10, mean ± SEM; *—vs. WKY control, p < 0.05, #—vs. SHR control, p < 0.05; &—vs. SHR-methyldopa, p < 0.05.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Influence of methyldopa and its combination with baicalein or extract from Scutellaria baicalensis roots on morning heart rate (HR) in SHR pregnant rats. Legend: n = 10, mean ± SEM; *—vs. WKY control, p < 0.05; #—vs. SHR control, p < 0.05; &—vs. SHR-methyldopa, p < 0.05.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Influence of methyldopa and its combination with baicalein or extract from Scutellaria baicalensis roots on noon systolic blood pressure (SBP) in SHR pregnant rats. Legend: n = 10, mean ± SEM; *—vs. WKY control, p < 0.05; #—vs. SHR control, p < 0.05; &—vs. SHR-methyldopa, p < 0.05.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Influence of methyldopa and its combination with baicalein or extract from Scutellaria baicalensis roots on noon diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in SHR pregnant rats. Legend: n = 10, mean ± SEM; *—vs. WKY control, p < 0.05; #—vs. SHR control, p < 0.05; &—vs. SHR-methyldopa, p < 0.05.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Influence of methyldopa and its combination with baicalein or extract from Scutellaria baicalensis roots on noon heart rate (HR) in SHR pregnant rats. Legend: n = 10, mean ± SEM; *—vs. WKY control, p < 0.05; #—vs. SHR control, p < 0.05; &—vs. SHR-methyldopa, p < 0.05.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Influence of methyldopa and its combination with baicalein or extract from Scutellaria baicalensis roots on evening systolic blood pressure (SBP) in SHR pregnant rats. Legend: n = 10, mean ± SEM; *—vs. WKY control, p < 0.05; #—vs. SHR control, p < 0.05; &—vs. SHR-methyldopa, p < 0.05.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Influence of methyldopa and its combination with baicalein or extract from Scutellaria baicalensis roots on evening diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in SHR pregnant rats. Legend: n = 10, mean ± SEM; *—vs. WKY control, p < 0.05; #—vs. SHR control, p < 0.05; &—vs. SHR-methyldopa, p < 0.05.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Influence of methyldopa and its combination with baicalein or extract from Scutellaria baicalensis roots on evening heart rate (HR) in SHR pregnant rats. Legend: n = 10, mean ± SEM; *—vs. WKY control, p < 0.05; #—vs. SHR control, p < 0.05; &—vs. SHR-methyldopa, p < 0.05.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP) after administration of methyldopa and its combination with baicalein and Scutellaria baicalensis root extract with regard to the time of day of administration in SHR pregnant rats. Legend: n = 10, mean ± SEM; *—vs. proper WKY control, p < 0.05; #—vs. proper SHR control, p < 0.05; &—vs. proper SHR-methyldopa, p < 0.05.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Changes in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) after administration of methyldopa and its combination with baicalein and Scutellaria baicalensis root extract with regard to the time of day of administration in SHR pregnant rats. Legend: n = 10, mean ± SEM; *—vs. proper WKY control, p < 0.05; #—vs. proper SHR control, p < 0.05; &—vs. proper SHR-methyldopa, p < 0.05.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Changes in heart rate (HR) after administration of methyldopa and its combination with baicalein and Scutellaria baicalensis root extract with regard to the time of day of administration in SHR pregnant rats. Legend: n = 10, mean ± SEM; *—vs. proper WKY control, p < 0.05; #—vs. proper SHR control, p < 0.05.
Figure 13
Figure 13
Influence of methyldopa and its combination with baicalein or extract from Scutellaria baicalensis roots on body mass in SHR pregnant rats. Legend: n = 10, mean ± SEM; *—vs. WKY control, p < 0.05; #—vs. SHR control, p < 0.05; &—vs. proper the 1st day, p < 0.05.
Figure 14
Figure 14
Graphical presentation of the animal experiment scheme.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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