NIS - libdoc.who.int - World Health Organization

WHO monographs on medicinal plants commonly used in the Newly Independent States (NIS)
Uses described in pharmacopoeias and well established documents
Herba Leonuri is used against cerebral ischaemia (32). It is also used for
treatment of heart palpitations occurring with anxiety attacks or other
nervous disorders (6, 43–45).
Uses described in traditional medicine
Traditionally, Herba Leonuri has been used for certain types of heart conditions,
simple tachycardia, effort syndrome, and specifically for cardiac
symptoms associated with neurosis (28). Herba Leonuri has also been
used for urine stimulation, and for removing calculus from kidneys. Used
as a remedy for female reproductive disorders; the plant stimulates the
muscles of the uterus and is used to treat delayed menstruation, menstrual
pain and premenstrual tension (46).
Pharmacology
Experimental pharmacology
Cardiovascular effects
An extract of the dried entire plant has demonstrated antihypertensive activity
in rats when administered by intravenous injection at a dose of
50 mg/kg body weight (bw) (47). The effects of aqueous extracts of Herba
Leonuri on the contractility of isolated rat aorta were investigated in vitro.
Although the aqueous extract (0.3–3 mg/ml) by itself had a limited effect,
the extract enhanced phenylephrine-induced contraction of aorta with endothelium.
This effect was not seen in studies on the aorta without endothelium.
The aqueous extract, like nitro-l-arginine methyl ester, an inhibitor
of nitric oxide synthase, significantly inhibited the relaxation induced
by acetylcholine in the aorta with endothelium (p < 0.05). Coadministration
of the extract with 1 mM of l-arginine reduced the inhibitory effect of
the extract on the relaxation of aorta. The vasoconstrictive effect of the
extract was not due to leonurine, a constituent of Herba Leonuri, which
expressed uterotonic activity. Intravenous injection of the aqueous extract
(1.5 mg/kg bw) to rats produced an increase in blood pressure for 5 minutes,
similar to that produced by nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (1.35 mg/kg
bw). These findings suggest that there is a constituent of Herba Leonuri,
which has vasoconstrictive activity in the rat, both in vitro and in vivo,
with a similar pharmacological profile to nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (48).
Antioxidant effects
Using antioxidant assays employing 2,2´-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic
acid) and diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl in vitro, it was
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