Sains Malaysiana 50(3)(2021): 769-778

http://doi.org/10.17576/jsm-2021-5003-18

Antihypertensive Activities of Standardised Moringa oleifera Lam. (Merunggai) Extracts in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

(Aktiviti Antihipertensi Menggunakan Ekstrak Moringa oleifera Lam. (Merunggai) Piawai pada Tikus Hipertensi Secara Spontan)

ENDANG KUMOLOSASI, CHENG CHEN WEI, ANIS ZAFIQA ABDULLAH, NUR SYAHIRAH ABD MANAP, WOON LEE LEE, MOHD HANIF YUSUF, LO SHIN YING, FHATAHEYA BUANG, MAZLINA MOHD SAID, HAZNI FALINA MOHAMAD & MALINA JASAMAI*

Drugs & Herbal Research Centre, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory, Malaysia

Received: 22 October 2019/Accepted: 26 August 2020

ABSTRACT

In recent years, Moringa oleifera has received commercial interest for its blood pressure (BP)-lowering effect. The objectives of this study were to investigate the hypotensive, diuretic, and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory activities of M. oleifera ethanolic and aqueous extracts. Spontaneously hypertensive (SH) and normotensive (NT) rats were fed the ethanolic and aqueous extracts at a dose of 1000 mg/kg each for 14 days. The rats were allocated to 12 groups of five rats each. Systolic and diastolic BP were measured, and urine was collected. All extracts, except the aqueous stem extract, significantly reduced systolic and diastolic BP in SH rats, but none of the extracts showed significant hypotensive effects on NT rats. The ethanolic leaf extract (ELE) caused significant diuresis. Moreover, most of the extracts inhibited ACE activity significantly at 40 and 80 µg/mL. ELE, aqueous leaf extract (ALE), and ethanolic pod extract (EPE) showed the highest levels of inhibition (>50%), and their IC₅₀ values; ELE (58.65±1.55), ALE (71.35±1.00) and EPE (54.04±1.00) were determined. The hypotensive effect observed was achieved either by diuretic or ACE-inhibitory activity. The active extracts are worthy of further investigation, as they have the potential to be developed as dietary supplements for pre-hypertensive individuals.

Keywords: ACE inhibition; diastolic blood pressure; diuretic; Moringa oleifera; systolic blood pressure

ABSTRAK

Dalam beberapa tahun kebelakangan ini, Moringa oleifera telah mendapat perhatian komersial untuk menurunkan tekanan darah. Objektif kajian ini adalah untuk mengkaji kesan hipotensi, aktiviti diuretik dan penukaran enzim angiotensin (ACE) ekstrak etanol dan ekstrak akueus M. oleifera. Ekstrak etanol dan ekstrak akueus diberi makan kepada tikus hipertensi secara spontan (SH) dan tikus normotensif (NT) pada dos 1000 mg/kg selama 14 hari. Dua belas kumpulan tikus digunakan dengan lima ekor tikus dalam setiap kumpulan Tekanan darah (TD) sistolik dan diastolik diukur dan urin dikumpul. Aktiviti perencatan ACE oleh ekstrak juga dikaji. Kesemua ekstrak kecuali ekstrak akueus batang menunjukkan pengurangan ketara TD sistolik dan diastolik pada SH tetapi tidak ada ekstrak yang menunjukkan kesan hipotensi yang signifikan terhadap NT. Ekstrak etanol daun (ELE) menunjukkan kesan diuretik yang ketara. Kebanyakan ekstrak menghalang aktiviti ACE dengan ketara pada 40 dan 80 μg/mL. Ekstrak akueus daun (ALE) dan ekstrak etanol lenggai (EPE) menunjukkan tahap perencatan tertinggi (> 50%) dan nilai IC₅₀nya; ELE (58.65±1.55), ALE (71.35±1.00) dan EPE (54.04±1.00) ditentukan. Kesan hipotensi yang ditunjukkan dicapai sama ada oleh aktiviti diuretik atau perencatan ACE. Ekstrak yang aktif patut dikaji dengan lebih lanjut kerana ia mempunyai potensi untuk dikembangkan sebagai makanan tambahan bagi individu pra-hipertensi.

Kata kunci: Diuretik; Moringa oleifera; perencatan ACE; tekanan darah sistolik; tekanan darah diastolic

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*Corresponding author; email: malina@ukm.edu.my