Abstract
Hypertension is one of the leading causes of chronic kidney disease (CKD)
due to the deleterious effects that increased blood pressure (BP) has on kidney
vasculature. Patients with CKD and hypertension often require a combination of
antihypertensive medications to target BP. Several classes of antihypertensive/diuretic
agents may have a role in the treatment of CKD and hypertension. Besides these
conventional therapies, it is extremely useful to identify new natural sources (herbs and
botanicals) of diuretics and their targets in the kidney that can be used alone or in
combination with traditional synthetic drugs. The use of herbal medicine and natural
products to contrast hypertension has increased many-fold over the past decade driven
by documented experimental evidence. However, many nephrologists are unaware of
these potential therapeutic benefits in treating hypertension, mainly for the lack of
knowledge of molecular mechanisms underlying their effects. Indeed, rigorous
preclinical assays are necessary to scientifically validate the utilization of medicinal
plants for the treatment of hypertension. This chapter provides detailed methods to
study the effects of two representative herbal extracts on renal transporters involved in
blood pressure regulation by in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo approaches. Of note, these
methods can be applied to any herbal extracts.
Keywords: Nephron, Herbal extract, Aquaporins, Ion channels, Membrane transporters.