Calcium Antagonistic Activity of Biophytum Petersianum on Vascular Smooth Muscles of Wistar Rat

The whole plant of Biophytum petersianum was extracted with a mixture of water & ndash; alcohol (1:1) to evaluate its relaxant effect on aorta rings. In isolated Wistar rat tissue, the hydro-ethanolic extract (0.1; 0.25 and 0.5 mg/ml) non-competitively antagonized calcium chloride and high-K + - induced aorta contractions in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, the inhibition of noradrenaline & ndash; induced contractions in the presence of extract (1 mg/ml) suggests that the extract has an effect on mobilization of intracellular calcium. These results indicate that hypotensive effect of Biophytum petersianum may result from inhibition of calcium influx via both voltage-and receptor-operated calcium channels.