The Effects of Moringa Oleifera On Angiogenic Factors In The Cervix Of Pregnant Mice

One in every nine births in the United States are preterm births (CDC, 2012), and of those, the leading cause is microbial infection. Current pharmacological treatments for these microbial infections have been shown to have serious side effects and low potencies. Alternatively, Moringa oleifera (MO) has been shown to exhibit potent anti-inflammatory and -bacterial activities with minimal side effects. Here, we test the effectiveness of MO as an alternative treatment to pharmacological-based inflammation therapies and its potential use in preterm births. Specifically, the effectiveness of (MO) whole leaf extract is tested against inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Following specific treatments [2 hour pretreatment with MO(4.8 µg/50 µL methanol, per os, followed by 2 hour treatment with LPS (100 µg/50 µL 1X PBS, i.p.)] of pregnant mice (day 15), cervical tissues were harvested and mRNA expression of angiogenic factors [vascular endothelial growth factor, VEGF); VEGF receptor 1, Flt-1; and VEGF receptor 2, KDR] were analyzed using real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The results show that MO whole methanolic extract largely down regulates expression of angiogenic factors VEGF and KDR mRNAs, while it had no significant effect on the expression of Flt-1. Based on this data, we can conclude that MO may be used to prevent inflammation induced preterm labor by decreasing expression of certain angiogenic factors, specifically VEGF and KDR.<p></p>