Evaluation of the antioxidant activity of the aqueous extract of Catharanthus roseus (Apocynaceae) on hypertensive rats induced by 60% fructose

Abstract

Catharanthus roseus is a shrub from the Apocynaceae family, which is used in the treatment of many diseases including hypertension. The triphytochemistry of the aqueous extract of the leaves of this plant revealed the presence of numerous molecules including alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins and polyterpenes. The present study showed that the consumption of 60% fructose by rats of the wistar strain during the first ten days of the experiment, very significantly increased the activities of catalase and malondialdehyde in the kidney and heart, then reduced them by highly significant at the end of the experiment. On the other hand, the activities of superoxide dismutase in the kidney and heart, and of nitric oxide in the aorta, increased significantly during the first two weeks before gradually decreasing until the end of the experiment. Treatment of 60% fructose-induced hypertension with aqueous extract of Catharanthus roseus leaves increased serum levels of catalase, superoxide dismutase, malondialdehyde, kidney and heart, and oxide nitric in the aorta. This increase was observed at doses ranging from 200 to 1000 mg/kg bw compared to the batch of patients treated. Compared to nifedipine and metformin, the aqueous extract of the leaves of Catharanthus roseus appears to have interesting antioxidant activity implicated in the treatment of hypertension induced by fructose.