Medicinal Plants and Drug Actions

Dr. Takemura

I would like to congratulate you upon your excellent work on the effects of tetrandrine on Ca mobilization in NON-EXCITABLE cells. However, I do not think the use of TET in the treatment of hypertension and angina pectoris would be clinically more effective than other VOC blockers. Although as you mentioned in your paper that the clinically used dose of many VOC blockers mainly inhibit VOC but not ROC, Ca release or IP3 formation as TET, VOC blockers, especially DHP calcium channel blockers are much more potent than TET in blocking VOC(IC50 at nM vs uM), which are the major Ca influx pathway into the EXCITABLE cells in blood vessels and heart.

Dr. Hui Dong

Fri Dec 11