Umbelliferone Alleviates Myocardial Ischemia: the Role of Inflammation and Apoptosis

The present study was to investigate cardioprotective effects of umbelliferone (Umb) on coronary artery ligation-induced myocardial ischemia. The model of myocardial ischemia (MI) was induced by ligatured the left anterior descending coronary artery of SD rats. ST-segment elevation, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK), catalase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), inflammatory cytokines, Toll-like receptors (TLRs)/nuclear factor (NF)-kappa Bp65 pathway, and apoptosis were evaluated in rats treated with or without Umb. The results showed that Umb treatment could significantly decrease the elevation of the ST segment of electrocardiograph (ECG), the myocardial infarct size of MI significantly. The levels of LDH, CK, and MDA were suppressed, and the content of SOD was enhanced with Umb. The elevated concentration of inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), and IL-6 in MI rats was effectively reversed by the Umb administration. Also, TLR/NF-kappa B and apoptosis-related proteins in MI rats were restored respectively by Umb treatment. The protective effect of Umb against MI injury might be associated with inflammation and apoptosis pathway.