BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of puerarin on vascular endothelial function and inflammatory factors in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients with stable angina pectoris (SAP).

MATERIAL AND METHODS: To evaluate the effects of angina pectoris, the differences of scores of the Seattle angina questionnaire (SAQ), vascular endothelial function [endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), nitric oxide (NO) and endothelin 1 (ET-1)], and inflammatory factors [tumor necrosis factor a (TNF-α), hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6)] in 2 groups were assessed before and after treatment.

RESULTS: Regarding the curative effect of angina pectoris, the total effective rate of the treatment group was significantly superior to that of the control group (89% vs. 65%, P<0.05). The duration of angina pectoris, the number of abnormal leads, the improvement of the ST segment depression of electrocardiogram, and the scores of SAQ life quality indexes in the treatment group were better than those of the control group (P<0.05). In the 2 groups, EPCs and NO were both elevated, while ET-1 was decreased, and the improvements of the treatment group were superior to those of the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the average levels of serum TNF-α, hs-CRP and IL-6 in the 2 groups were all decreased, which the treatment group showed a much sharper decrease than in the control group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Puerarin effectively improves clinical symptoms and vascular endothelial function and reduces the levels of inflammatory factors in patients with CAD.

Keywords: Angina, Stable, Coronary Artery Disease, endothelial cells, Angina Pectoris, C-Reactive Protein, Endothelin-1, Interleukin-6, Nitric Oxide