Prevention of atherosclerotic arterial stenosis and restenosis after angioplasty with Andrographis paniculata nees and fish oil. Experimental studies of effects and mechanisms.

Restenosis rate after coronary angioplasty has been up to 30%-40%. To solve this problem, we studied the effects of Andrographis Paniculata Nees (APN) and fish oil (FO, omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids over 70%) on atherosclerotic stenosis and restenosis after experimental angioplasty and the relevant mechanisms of APN and FO. Preliminary results showed that APN can significantly alleviate atherosclerotic iliac artery stenosis induced by both deendothelialization and high cholesterol diet (HCD) and restenosis following angioplasty in rabbits. FO showed the same but milder effects than APN did. Both APN and FO significantly inhibited blood monocytes to secrete growth factors in vivo. Ca(++)-ATPase activity of cell membrane of atherosclerotic rabbits was significantly decreased, while APN or FO, especially the former alleviated this reduction. Refined extract of APN significantly decreased in vitro resting platelet [Ca++]i and in vivo the resting and thrombin-stimulated platelet [Ca++]i after oral administration of APN for 2 weeks. APN significantly inhibited cell growth or DNA synthesis in dose-dependent manner. In conclusion because of the mechanisms described above, APN can alleviate atherosclerotic artery stenosis induced by both deendothelialization and HCD as well as lower restenosis rate after experimental angioplasty. The effects of APN are evidently superior to those of FO.