Protective roles of puerarin and Danshensu on acute ischemic myocardial injury in rats

Ischemic heart diseases have been the leading cause of death in both developed and developing countries over the past decades. The aim of this study was to investigate the cardioprotective effects of the complex preparation (called Shenge), made of puerarin (isolated from Pueraria lobata Ohwi., also called Kudzu) and Danshensu (isolated from the Chinese herb, Salvia miltiorrhiza), on acute ischemic myocardial injury in rats and its underlying mechanisms. The left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery was occluded to induce myocardial ischemia in the hearts of SD rats. Shenge was injected into the tail vein 15 min after occlusion at doses of 0, 30, 60, or 120 mg/kg body wt. ST elevation was then measured at 60, 120, and 240 min after Shenge administration. The ischemic size, serum levels of creatine kinase isoenzyme-MB (CK-MB), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA), and ST elevation were measured after the rats were sacrificed. Shenge decreased ST elevation induced by acute myocardial ischemia, reduced ischemic size, serum levels of CK-MB, LDH and MDA, and increased serum activity of SOD in a dose-dependent manner. The combined use of puerarin and Danshensu at a ratio of 1:1 showed the most effective activity. In conclusion, Shenge exerts significant cardioprotective effects against acute ischemic myocardial injury in rats, likely through its antioxidant and anti-lipid peroxidation properties, and thus may be an effective and promising medicine for both prophylaxis and treatment of ischemic heart disease. (C) 2007 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.