Angelica acutiloba Kitagawa (Yamato Toki) is a herbal medicine known to exhibit various health effects. In this study, we used a rat model to examine the effects of two different Yamato Toki extracts on the blood flow response of the instep of the hind paw. Twelve-week- old male stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) were orally given 200 mg of a water extract of Yamato Toki (n=6), 200 mg of an ethanol extract of Yamato Toki (n = 6), 30 mg/kg of nicardipine (n = 6) as a positive control and saline (n = 6) as a negative control. Blood flow was monitored continuously for 0, 1, 3, 6 and 24 hours after treatment. Rats given 200 mg of the ethanol extract of Yamato Toki demonstrated significantly greater blood flow compared with control rats at 1 hour after treatment. An ethanol extract of Yamato Toki from Nara administrated orally can increase blood flow in SHRSP.
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