Cardioprotective effect of Spathodea campanulata bark on isoproterenol-induced myocardial infarction in rats

Medicinal Plants in the Treatment of Myocardial Infarction Disease: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Myocardial infarction (MI), also referred to as a "heart attack," is brought on by a partial or total interruption of blood supply to the myocardium. Myocardial infarction can be "silent," go undiagnosed, or it can be a catastrophic occurrence that results in hemodynamic decline and untimely death. In recent years, herbal remedies for MI have become effective, secure, and readily accessible.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this review was to examine the medicinal plants and phytochemicals that have been used to treat MI in order to assess the potential contribution of natural substances to the development of herbal MI treatments.

METHODOLOGY

A literature search was employed to find information utilizing electronic databases, such as Web of Science, Google Scholar, PubMed, Sci Finder, Reaxys, and Cochrane.

RESULTS

The identification of 140 plants from 12 families led to the abstraction of data on the plant families, parts of the plant employed, chemical contents, extracts, model used, and dose.

CONCLUSION

The majority of the MI plants, according to the data, belonged to the Fabaceae (11%) and Asteraceae (9%) families, and the most prevalent natural components in plants with MI were flavonoids (43%), glucosides (25%), alkaloids (23%), phenolic acid (19%), saponins (15%), and tannins (12%).

Pharmacodynamic interaction of Tinospora cordifolia Willd. With Ocimum sanctum Linn. in isoproterenol-induced cardiac toxicity

Background:

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of deaths despite several advancements in the current medical interventions. Among them, myocardial infarction (MI) is the most alarming disease as about 17.1 million peoples die every year due to MI.

Aim:

The present study was designed to investigate the potential cardioprotective effect of combination of standardized extracts of Tinospora cordifolia (SETC) (250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg) and Ocimum sanctum (SEOS) (50 mg/kg) in isoproterenol (ISO)-induced MI.

Materials and methods:

MI was induced in rats by subcutaneous injection of ISO for 2 consecutive days at an interval of 24 h. Rats were pretreated with test drugs for the period of 21 days, and ISO was administered on the 20^th and 21^st days. At the end of experiment, i.e., on 22^nd-day electrocardiograph, a hemodynamic, biochemical, and histopathological study of heart tissues was evaluated from control and experimental groups and statistically analyzed by one-way analysis of variance followed by Tukey's test.

Results:

ISO-administered rats showed significant changes in electrocardiograph, mean arterial blood pressure, heart rate, biochemical markers, antioxidant parameters, and histopathology of heart. The activities of cardiac biomarkers were reduced in serum, and there was an increase in antioxidants in heart tissue of test drug-treated animals. Similarly, electrocardiograph, mean arterial blood pressure, and heart rate were restored to normalcy in all test and standard drug-treated animals.

Conclusion:

The SETC 500 mg/kg in combination with SEOS 50 mg/kg was found to be effective in prevention of myocardial injury induced by ISO.

Evaluation of the cardioprotective effect of Casuarina suberosa extract in rats

The aim of the current study was to examine and compare the cardioprotective activities of the chloroform and petroleum extracts the leaves of Casuarina suberosa in isoproterenol (ISO)-induced cardiac tissue oxidative stress. Rats were categorized into 6 groups as follows: control group, vehicle or Tween 80-treated group, ISO-treated group, chloroform extract + ISO treated group, petroleum ether extract + ISO treated group and Reference drug (Captopril) + ISO treated group. ISO injection significantly (p < 0.05) increased the activities of cardiac marker enzymes (CK-MB, LDH, ALT, and AST), cardiac troponin-I, levels of lipid peroxides (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity and neutrophil infiltration marker; myeloperoxidase (MPO) in the cardiac tissues. Pretreatment with chloroform or petroleum ether extracts significantly (p < 0.05) prevented the ISO-induced alteration; they upregulated VEGF expression. Histopathological findings corroborated biochemical results. These extracts exerted a cardioprotective effect by alleviating oxidative stress.

Cardioprotective Potential of Plant-Derived Molecules: A Scientific and Medicinal Approach

Since the beginning of human civilization, plants have been used in alleviating the human distress and it was recorded for about thousands of years ago that the plants are being used for medicinal purposes. Natural bioactive compounds called phytochemicals are obtained from medicinal plants, vegetables, and fruits, which functions to combat against various ailments. There is dire need to explore the plant biodiversity for its medicinal and pharmacological potentials. Different databases such as Google scholar, Medline, PubMed, and the Directory of Open Access Journals were searched to find the articles describing the cardioprotective function of medicinal plants. Various substances from a variety of plant species are used for the treatment of cardiovascular abnormalities. The cardioprotective plants contain a variety of bioactive compounds, including diosgenin, isoflavones, sulforaphane, carotinized, catechin, and quercetin, have been proved to enhance cardioprotection, hence reducing the risk of cardiac abnormalities. The present review article provides the data on the use of medicinal plants particularly against cardiac diseases and to explore the molecules/phytoconstituents as plant secondary metabolites for their cardioprotective potential.

Evaluation of Paeonia emodi and its gold nanoparticles for cardioprotective and antihyperlipidemic potentials

Paeonia emodi Wall. ex Royle is an important member of family Paeoniaceae and folklorically used for constipation, hysteria, respiratory diseases, epilepsy and cardiac diseases like hypertension, palpitations, congestive heart failure and atherosclerosis. In the present study, ethyl acetate fraction of P. emodi (Pe.EA) was subjected to column chromatography to obtain sub- fractions. These sub-fractions were screened for their cardioprotective activity in isoproterenol hydrochloride (ISO) induced myocardial infarction (MI) in mice. The most active fraction Pe. EA 40 was used for its gold nanoparticles synthesis (Pe.EA 40-AuNPs). Pe.EA 40 and Pe.EA 40-AuNPs were investigated for their cardioprotective, antihyperlipidemic, DNA fragmentation assay and histopathological study. Pe.EA 40 (80 mg/kg body weight) significantly reduced the serum levels of Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT), Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST), Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH), Creatine Phosphokinase (CPK) to 66.07 ± 1.54, 77.08 ± 1.79, 84.86 ± 1.34 and 265.34 ± 4.34 IU/L respectively as compared to ISO treated group. Pe.EA 40-AuNPs (40 mg/kg) reduced the levels of ALT, AST, CPK and LDH to 60.74 ± 2.79, 75.47 ± 1.67, 80.48 ± 2.64 and 247.54. ± 5.57 IU/L respectively. A significant reduction was observed in lipid profile, protection in DNA damage and restoration of histopathological changes as compared to ISO treated group. Based on the results, it can be suggested that preparation of Pe.EA 40-AuNPs enhances the therapeutic potential of plant extract for the treatment of atherosclerosis and MI.

Medicinal plants, human health and biodiversity: a broad review

Biodiversity contributes significantly towards human livelihood and development and thus plays a predominant role in the well being of the global population. According to WHO reports, around 80 % of the global population still relies on botanical drugs; today several medicines owe their origin to medicinal plants. Natural substances have long served as sources of therapeutic drugs, where drugs including digitalis (from foxglove), ergotamine (from contaminated rye), quinine (from cinchona), and salicylates (willow bark) can be cited as some classical examples.Drug discovery from natural sources involve a multifaceted approach combining botanical, phytochemical, biological, and molecular techniques. Accordingly, medicinal-plant-based drug discovery still remains an important area, hitherto unexplored, where a systematic search may definitely provide important leads against various pharmacological targets.Ironically, the potential benefits of plant-based medicines have led to unscientific exploitation of the natural resources, a phenomenon that is being observed globally. This decline in biodiversity is largely the result of the rise in the global population, rapid and sometimes unplanned industrialization, indiscriminate deforestation, overexploitation of natural resources, pollution, and finally global climate change.Therefore, it is of utmost importance that plant biodiversity be preserved, to provide future structural diversity and lead compounds for the sustainable development of human civilization at large. This becomes even more important for developing nations, where well-planned bioprospecting coupled with nondestructive commercialization could help in the conservation of biodiversity, ultimately benefiting mankind in the long run.Based on these findings, the present review is an attempt to update our knowledge about the diverse therapeutic application of different plant products against various pharmacological targets including cancer, human brain, cardiovascular function, microbial infection, inflammation, pain, and many more.

Biosynthetic alginate–polyester hydrogels with inherent free radical scavenging activity promote cellular response

The prevention of deleterious effects of reactive oxygen species on the cell growth by biosynthetic hydrogels based on alginate–polyester copolymer was studied using H2O2 as the model ROS molecule. Chemically cross-linked biosynthetic hydrogels of alginate- co-poly(propylene fumarate)–n-butyl methacrylate, alginate- co-poly(propylene fumarate)–methyl methacrylate, alginate- co-poly(propylene fumarate)–2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, and alginate- co-poly(propylene fumarate)– N,N′-methylene bisacrylamide with different biostabilities were prepared. We found that they were able to resist reactive oxygen species penetration into the cell to a greater extent which was evident from the live/dead assay, and increased intracellular glutathione levels compared to the H2O2-treated control. The hydrogels maintained the genomic integrity which was confirmed by comet assay. The inherent protective effects of these hydrogels without any antioxidant moiety may be mediated by dual mechanism: (a) prevention of migration of H2O2 into the cells by calcium-induced conformational changes and rigidity in phospholipids present in the surface membrane of cells by the calcium generated from degradation of hydrogel and (b) by the dilution of H2O2 by the free water in the hydrogel. These hydrogels have potential as injectable hydrogels to manage myocardial infarction and ischemia.