Antithrombotic activities of aqueous extract from Gardenia jasminoides and its main constituent

Context: Gardenia jasminoides J. Ellis (Rubiaceae) is a shrub tree species distributed all over the world. Now its pharmacological activities such as anti-atherosclerosis have been extensively studied. Objective: To offer pharmacological proof for its further clinical application in cardiovascular diseases, the antithrombotic activities of the aqueous extract of G. jasminoides (GJ-ext) were studied in mouse and rat models. Materials and methods: GJ-ext was administrated orally to detect the effects on the models of carrageenan-induced tail thrombosis and arteriovenous shunt thrombosis. The effects of GJ-ext and geniposide (p.o.) on antiplatelet aggregation were examined. Geniposide and genipin were studied on venous thrombosis by oral administration. Results: GJ-ext (67, 133 and 266 mg/kg) and aspirin (50 mg/kg), respectively, decreased the length of tail thrombus with average thrombus inhibition rate of 21.9, 55.7, 65.8 and 57.6% at 48 h and 19.0, 54.5, 69.3 and 56.9% at 72 h after carrageenan injection and, meanwhile, improved thrombosis induced by arteriovenous shunt (silk thread) with 36.3, 45.5, 86.4 and 63.7% inhibition rate of thrombus respectively, and the ED50 of GJ-ext was 160.8 mg/kg. Furthermore, GJ-ext (67 mg/kg) and geniposide (20 mg/kg) significantly inhibited platelet aggregation induced by thrombin/collagen with 45.1%/19.3% and 52.8%/26.2% aggregation rate. Geniposide (10-40 mg/kg) and genipin (5-20 mg/kg) inhibited venous thrombosis induced by tight ligation of the inferior vena cava, their ED50 values were 18.4 and 8.6 mg/kg, respectively. Discussion and conclusion: This study indicated that GJ-ext and geniposide demonstrated remarkable antithrombotic activities and supported their therapeutic uses for thrombotic diseases.