ABSTRACT

The effect of the aethanolic leaf extract of Connarus grandis Jack. to the blood pressure of hypertensive rats was investigated. An amount of 2 to 3 months old male Wistar Kyoto rats weighing 200 – 300 g were hypertensive-induced with prednisone 1,5 mg/kg and NaCl 2,5 % orally each day. After two weeks of hypertensive-induction treatment, 18 rats were grouped into 6: hypertensive control group, standard drug-treated group (nifedipine 5 mg/kg), and extract-treated group (extract 10, 20, 40, and 80 mg/kg). The rats were anesthetized with pentobarbital Na 60 mg/kg and then were cannulated at the carotid artery to perform direct blood pressure measurement. The Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP), Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP), Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP), and Heart Rate (HR) were recorded by using Biopac^® System MP150. Each rat received 3 repeated doses. The percent of blood pressure changes were calculated after each dose administration. The study showed that the extract at the doses of 10, 20, and 40 mg/kg decreased the SBP and DBP significantly (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the extract at the doses of 10, 20, 40, and 80 mg/kg decreased the MAP significantly (P < 0.05). The HR was not influenced by the treatments (P > 0.1). The antihypertensive effect of the extract was decreased by the increased dose. The antihypertensive potency of the extract was insignificantly different to nifedipine 5 mg/kg.

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