Observations placeholder
Asafoetida, spasms and blood pressure
Identifier
005331
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
One of the symptoms of an epileptic seizure is that the muscles contract and cause both pain and immobility.
Asafoetida has been used in folk medicine as an aid during epileptic fits and this research may give some support to its use in scientific terms - the anti-spasmodic activity. Similar antispasmodic drugs are used to treat aspects of Parkinsons disease
The effect on blood pressure appears to be mediated through vasodilation, as such it can be very roughly classified as a form of vasodilator.
A description of the experience
J Ethnopharmacol. 2004 Apr;91(2-3):321-4. Antispasmodic and hypotensive effects of Ferula asafoetida gum extract. Fatehi M, Farifteh F, Fatehi-Hassanabad Z. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 91775-1843, Mashhad, Iran.
The effects of Ferula asafoetida gum extract on the contractile responses of the isolated guinea-pig ileum induced by acetylcholine, histamine and KCl, and on the mean arterial blood pressure of rat were investigated.
In the presence of extract (3 mg/ml), the average amplitude of spontaneous contractions of the isolated guinea-pig ileum was decreased to 54 +/- 7% of control. Exposure of the precontracted ileum by acetylcholine (10 microM) to Ferula asafoetida gum extract caused relaxation in a concentration-dependent manner.
Similar relaxatory effect of the extract was observed on the precontracted ileum by histamine (10 microM) and KCl (28 mM). However, when the preparations were preincubated with indomethacin (100 nM) and different antagonists, such as propranolol (1 microM), atropine (100 nM), chlorpheniramine (25 nM) then were contracted with KCl, exposure to the extract (3 mg/ml) did not cause any relaxation.
Furthermore, Ferula asafoetida gum extract (0.3-2.2 mg/100g body weight) significantly reduced the mean arterial blood pressure in anaesthetised rats.
It might be concluded that the relaxant compounds in Ferula asafoetida gum extract interfere with a variety of muscarinic, adrenergic and histaminic receptor activities or with the mobilisation of calcium ions required for smooth muscle contraction non-specificly.
PMID: 15120456
The source of the experience
PubMedConcepts, symbols and science items
Concepts
Symbols
Science Items
Activities and commonsteps
Activities
Overloads
Endothelial dysfunctionHeart failure and coronary heart disease
Hypertension
Vasodilators