Effect of Herbal Mixture as Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitor in Angiotensin-II Dependent Hypertension

The effect of herbal mixture of Curcuma longa (CL) and Rauvolfia serpentina (RS) as green ACE inhibitors in Angiotensin-II dependent hypertension was evaluated by measuring the changes in ACE level in blood serum of hypertensive dogs. 2K1C Renovascular Hypertension Model (RVHM) was used to introduce hypertension in dogs. Substantial Hypertension was induced after seven days of renal artery ligation (RAL) with significant increase in the level of ACE in blood serum of spontaneously hypertensive dogs (SHD). Experimental dogs were divided into four groups among them RVH hypertension was induced in the dogs of three groups and fourth group was the normotensive dogs. Hypertensive dogs of one group left untreated while the other two groups treated with herbal mixture and standard drug (Captopril) respectively. The herbal mixture showed significant decrease in Systolic blood pressure (SBP) pressure, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), Pulse rate (PR), and serum ACE level of SHD as compared to Captopril. SBP, DBP and PR were also correlated with hematological parameters. Daily oral administration of herbal mixture resulted in a time-dependent blood pressure and ACE level reduction in SHD, with management of hypertension after nine days treatment. White blood cells (WBC), Lymphocyte (LYM), Mid-sized cells (MID), Granulocyte (GRA), platelet count (PLT), mean corpuscular volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW) and platelet crit (PCT) showed highly significant (P<0.01) positive correlation with SBP, DBP and PR while (red blood cells) RBC showed significant (P<0.05) positive correlation only with SBP and PR. This study demonstrated that the combination of CL and RS effectively reduced blood pressure and heart rate of SHD and this antihypertensive effect is probably due to the reduction of ACE level in blood serum. (C) 2018 PVJ. All rights reserved