Endothelium modulated vasorelaxant response of a polypharmaceutical herbaldrug (lipotab) and its individual constituents

The present study was undertaken to examine the endothelium modulated effec ts of polypharmaceutical drug lipotab and its individual ingredients in iso lated aortic rings of rat. Endothelium intact and denuded aortic rings were precontracted with phenylephrine 10(-6) M and drugs were added in cumulati ve manner in concentration ranging from 1 to 50 mu g/ml. The results demons trated an endothelium-dependent vasorelaxant effect of lipotab and its indi vidual ingredients. with the exception of nicotinic acid. The dose dependen t relaxant response of nicotinic acid was not altered significantly in the endothelium-denuded rings, suggesting a direct effect of the drug on the va scular smooth muscle. Vasorelaxant effect of lipotab and its individual con stituents suggests the therapeutic potential of these compounds in certain cardiovascular diseases. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.