The Protium heptaphyllum species, also known as Almécega, produces an oily resin, used in folk medicine as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory agent, in healing, and as an expectorant, which is rich in pentacyclic triterpenes and essential oils. In this study, the essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation of Almécega's resin was analyzed by gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometr...

A series of 2-(2-diethylamino)-ethoxychalcone and 6-prenyl(or its isomers)-flavanones 10a,b and 11a-g were synthesized and evaluated for their vasorelaxant activities against rat aorta rings pretreated with 1 μM phenylephrine (PE). Several compounds showed potent vasorelaxant activities. Compound 10a (EC(50) = 7.6 μM, E(max) = 93.1%), the most potent one, would be a promising structural templat...

BACKGROUND Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptides (PACAPs) are potent endothelium independent dilators of human coronary arteries; however, their effects on human pulmonary arteries are unknown. METHODS The vasorelaxant effects of PACAP27 on human pulmonary segmental arteries were studied and the specific potassium (K+) channel regulatory mechanisms in the vasorelaxant effects were t...

From the rhizomes of Kaempferia galanga, ethyl cinnamate (EC) was isolated and its vasorelaxant effect was examined on the rat aorta. EC inhibited the tonic contractions induced by high K+ and phenylephrine (PE) in a concentration-dependent manner, with respective IC50 values of 0.30 +/- 0.05 mM and 0.38 +/- 0.04 mM. The relaxant effect against PE-induced contractions was greater in the presenc...