The Mechanism Underlying the Anti-anemia Effect of an Aqueous Extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa L.
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Abstract:
Preliminary study was conducted on the mechanism underlying the anti-anemia function of an aqueous extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. (HS). The IDA rat model was established and the resulting rats were randomly divided into 4 groups. The IDA rats were administered with low, medium and high doses of HS. After 30 days, the rats were dissected and their duodenum and liver were taken. Then, Q-PCR and Western blot techniques were used to detect the expression levels of divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT-1), ferroportin (FPN), hephaestin (Hp) and their mRNA in the duodenum as well as the expression of hepcidin and its mRNA in the liver of the rats. The results showed that the decreases in the expression levels of DMT-1, FPN-1 and Hp for the low and medium HS dose groups were not more than 9%, while the mRNA expression level were over 50%, compared with those of low-iron control group. There were no significant difference in Hp mRNA between the low dose and medium dose groups. The decreases in the expression of DMT-1, FPN-1, Hp and their mRNA induced by the high-dose HS varied. The expression level of Hepcidin-25 in the low-dose group was 1.61 times as high as that for the low-iron control group, whilst the expression level in the high-dose group decreased by 65.79%. HS at different doses all showed an inhibitory effect on the mRNA expression. Therefore, HS promotes the absorption of iron in the body by providing active constituents, thereby affecting the expression of DMT-1, FPN-1, Hp, Hepcidin-25 and its mRNA in IDA rats, to maintain the iron homeostasis inside the body.
