RT - Journal Article T1 - The Role of Nitric Oxide and Intracellular Stores of Calcium in the Protective Effect of Artemisia Annua Aqueous Extract on the Contractile Response of Aortic Rings to Alpha 1-Adrenoceptor Agonist in Diabetic Rats JF - umsha YR - 2007 JO - umsha VO - 13 IS - 4 UR - http://sjh.umsha.ac.ir/article-1-458-en.html SP - 32 EP - 38 K1 - Aorta K1 - Artemisia Annua K1 - Calcium K1 - Diabetes Mellitus K1 - Nitric Oxide K1 - Phenylephrine AB - Introduction & Objective: Vascular complications represent the main cause of mortality in diabetic patients. Considering the role of plants containing flavonoids in elimination of diabetic vascular disorders and the protective effect of the aqueous extract of Artemisia annua on aortic contractile response in diabetic rats, we evaluated the mechanism of vasodilating action of Artemisia annua extract in this study. Materials & Methods: For this purpose, male Wistar rats (n=36) were randomly divided into control, untreated-diabetic, and Artemisia annua aqueous extract treated-diabetic groups. For induction of diabetes, streptozotocin (STZ) was intraperitoneally administered (60 mg/Kg). Artemisia annua extract-treated group received 60 mg/Kg of extract intraperitoneally. After one month, contractile reactivity of aortic rings to phenylephrine in the presence of L-NAME and EGTA was determined using isolated tissue setup. Results: Comparing of the contractile response of aortic rings with endothelium to phenylephrine, before and after adding of L-NAME, showed a significant difference between treated and untreated diabetic rats(P LA eng UL http://sjh.umsha.ac.ir/article-1-458-en.html M3 ER -