EVALUATION OF THE ANTIHYPERTENSIVE EFFECTS OF AN AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF LEAVES OF CEIBA PENTANDRA (BOMBACACEAE) IN WISTAR RATS

Ceiba pentandra is a plant in the African pharmacopoeia known for its antihypertensive properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antihypertensive effects of an aqueous extract of leaves of Ceiba pentandra (AECp) in Wistar rats. To do this, rats made hypertensive, by subcutaneous injection of Deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) dosed at 25 mg/kg of body weight (BW) associated with a 1% sodium chloride (NaCl) drink for three weeks, were used to determine systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and respiratory rate (RR) using a Contec 08A-VET type sphygmomanometer. Treatment of hypertensive rats for three weeks with AECp at 1000 mg/kg B.P. and Nifedipine, Captopril and Propranolol, all at 20 mg/kg B.P., promoted a highly significant (P ≤ 0.001) reduction in PAS, DBP and RF of hypertensive rats. Analysis of biochemical markers revealed that AECp improved highly significantly (P ≤ 0.001) the levels of creatine kinase (CK-MB), aspartate amino transferase (AST), alamine amino transferase (ALT), triglycerides (TG) and total cholesterol in hypertensive rats. AECp also reduced left ventricular mass index (LVMI). These effects would be due to the alkaloids, flavonoids and polyphenols contained in this extract. AECp induces a restoration of hemodynamic and biochemical parameter values in hypertensive rats close to those of normotensive rats. These effects could justify its use in the management of hypertension in traditional medicine.