Čes. slov. farm. 2008, 57(6):239-243

The effect of Crataegus extract on heart mitochondrial function

D. Majienė^1,2, J. Bernatonienė¹, R. Masteiková^3,*, K. Dvořáčková³

¹ Department of Drug Technology and Pharmaceutical Management, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kaunas University of Medicine, Lithuania

² Institute for Biomedical Research, Kaunas University of Medicine, Lithuania

³ University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutics, Czech Republic

This study was aimed to investigate in vitro the influence of different concentrations of Crataegus fruit extract (70 ng/ml - 13.9 μg/ml of phenolic compounds (PC)) on oxidative phosphorylation in isolated rat heart mitochondria. The mitochondrial respiratory rates were determined oxygraphically by means of Clark-type electrode system with different substrates: pyruvate + malate, succinate and palmitoyl-L-carnitine. Our results demonstrate that Crataegus extract at doses under to 278 ng/ml of PC had no effect on mitochondrial functions. At concentrations of 278 ng/ml - 6.95 μg/ml of PC, extract stimulated the State 2 respiration rate by 11-27% with all used substrates. The highest Crataegus extract concentration used in our investigations (13.9 μg/ml of PC) increased the State 2 respiration rate by 27-34% and significantly reduced (12-19%) the maximal ADP-stimulated mitochondrial respiration rate due to the inhibition of mitochondrial respiratory chain.

Keywords: Crataegus fruit extract; heart mitochondria; oxidative phosphorylation; flavonoids

Received: September 26, 2024; Accepted: October 30, 2024; Published: June 1, 2008  Show citation