A study of the smooth muscle relaxant actions of harman alkaloids isolated from the seeds of peganum harmala
Journal Title: Perspectives In Medical Research - Year 2018, Vol 6, Issue 3
Abstract
Introduction: : The plant Peganum harmala is a shrub native to the arid parts of the world including India. It's therapeutic value is attributed to the presence of alkaloids harmala and harmine in the dried ripe seeds. In traditional medicine these seeds are considered to have anti-spasmodic, hypnotic, anodyne, emetic, emmenogogue, stimulant, aphrodisiac, lactogogue and antihelminthic actions. Objectives: The present study was undertaken to find out the effects of the active principle extracted from the seeds of Peganum harmala on isolated smooth muscle and skeletal muscle preparations and the probable mechanism of action Materials and Methods :The harman alkaloid isolated from Peganum harmala seeds was used for experiments on isolated preparations of rat uterus, guinea pig ileum, rabbit jejunum and frog rectus abdominis muscles and the responses were recorded on a rotating smoked drum on a kymograph. Results :The active principle in Peganum harmala seeds was shown to inhibit spontaneous movements of isolated rat uterus, guinea pig ileum and rabbit jejunum. Also shown to inhibit contractions of oestranised rat uterus induced by oxytocin, contractions of guinea pig ileum induced by histamine and acetyl choline. Have not shown any effect on contractions of frog rectus abdominus muscle. Conclusion :Harman alkaloids have anti-spasmodic, tocolytic, anti-cholinergic and anti-histaminic activities, it is unlikely that these alkaloids have a specific receptor antagonistic activity. Also these have found to inhibit the smooth muscle contractions but not the skeletal muscle contractions. The smooth muscle relaxant action may be due to calcium channel blockade.
Authors and Affiliations
Rajkumar T
Early diagnosis of childhood Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is characterized by an overproduction of immature white blood cells, called lymphoblasts or leukemic blasts. These cells crowd the bone marrow, preventing it from making normal blood ce...
Study of all aspects of 50 consecutive patients with Acute Pancreatitis in a Tertiary care Hospital in North Telangana
Introduction: One of the most dangerous diseases of GIT is Acute Pancreatitis (AP). Its onset, the illimitable agony which accompanies it, the mortality, all render it the most formidable of catastrophes. Uniformly, seve...
Clinical evaluation of addition of ketamine to bupivacaine for spinal anaesthesia
Introduction: Lignocaine and bupivacaine are the commonly used anesthetic agents for spinal anaesthesia. Ketamine when used intrathecally provides better surgical conditions with cardiovascular stability of short duratio...
Incidence and types of intracranial aneurysms in patients with non traumatic subarachnoid haemorrhage as assessed by 128 slice computed tomography angiography along with surgical correlation
Introduction:Most common cause of non traumatic subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is ruptured intracranial aneurysm. Its assessment is a dire emergency because of its high mortality rate. Computed tomography angiography (CT...
Outcomes of teenage pregnancy
Introduction: Teenage pregnancies accounts for 10 to 15 percent of total pregnancies in India. Pregnancy in adolescent age group has shown an increased risk in obstetric and medical complications. Statistics all over the...