Ameliorative Effect of Cardamom Aqueous Extract on Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity in Rats

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the potential cardioprotective effect of cardamom (CAR) against myocardial injuries induced by doxorubicin (DOX) in rats through investigation of histological alterations and the associated oxidative stress, apoptosis, inflammation, and angiogenesis. This study included 30 adult male albino rats that were randomized to 3 groups (n = 10/group): group I (control), group II (DOX) rats injected with DOX (2.5 mg/kg body weight [BW] i.p.) every other day for 2 weeks, and group III (CAR+DOX) received CAR extract (200 mg/kg BW) orally for 3 weeks, and 1 week later (starting from the 2nd week) they were injected with DOX (2.5 mg/kg BW i.p.) every other day for 2 weeks. Rats treated with DOX alone exhibited notable myocardial damage (discontinuity and disorganization of cardiac muscle fibers, mononuclear cell infiltration, and apparent increases in collagen fiber deposition) accompanied by loss of function (revealed by elevated serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase, and cardiac troponin), induction of oxidative stress (indicated by higher levels of nitric oxide and malon­dialdehyde, and lower levels of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase), apoptosis (evidenced by high caspase 3 activity and immunostaining), and inflammation (marked by high cardiac NFκB level). However, administration of CAR not only ameliorated all deleterious effects of DOX but also induced angiogenesis, as indicated by a significant increase in VEGF immunoreactivity. These data indicate that CAR could relieve DOX-induced cardiotoxicity, at least in part, via reductions in oxidative stress, apoptosis, and inflammation and increased tissue regeneration via induction of angiogenesis. Therefore, CAR could be a promising cytoprotective agent against DOX cardiotoxicity.

Clerodendrum volubileEthanol Leaf Extract: A Potential Antidote to Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity in Rats

“…Group VII rats which served as the positive control group were equally pretreated with 20 mg/kg/day of Vitamin C 3 hours before treatment with 2.5 mg/kg of doxorubicin in 0.9% normal saline administered intraperitoneally on alternate days for 14 days. Group VIII rats were the untreated normal rats and were orally pretreated with 10 ml/kg/day of distilled water 3 hours before treatment with 2.5 mg/kg of doxorubicin in 0.9% normal saline administered intraperitoneally on alternate days for 14 days ( Table 1 ) [ 50 , 51 ]. The choice of vitamin C was made because it is a standard antioxidant agent, and its effect as a positive control was compared with other treatment groups.…”

Protective Effect of Methylxanthine Fractions Isolated from Bancha Tea Leaves against Doxorubicin-Induced Cardio- and Nephrotoxicities in Rats

“…After identifying certain substances, we did not find a proper match for a positive control. Moreover, recently published studies did not include positive controls [ 33 , 34 ]. Toxicity studies were not performed since methylxanthines have been well studied, and the doses used in the present study are significantly lower than the lethal doses of caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline in rats.…”

Protective effect of L-arginine against renal damage induced by cadmium and lead intoxication in rats

“…Oxidative stress is one of the basic mechanisms involved in metal-induced toxicity (El-Kassas et al, 2019;Stohs and Bagchi, 1995). In consequence, the search for effective, nontoxic, natural compounds with antioxidant activity has been intensified in recent years (Abu Gazia and El-Magd 2018b;Negrette-Guzmán et al, 2013). L-arginine, a nitric oxide precursor, is used in current basic and clinical research because of its important therapeutic properties (Alderton et al, 2001).…”