Cardioprotective effect of silymarin nanoemulsion on 5‐fluorouracil‐induced cardiotoxicity in rats

Abstract

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU)-associated cardiotoxicity has been ranked as the second most common cause of cardiotoxicity induced by chemotherapeutic drugs after anthracyclines. In the present study, we investigated the protective impacts of silymarin (SIL) and silymarin nanoemulsion (SLN) against cardiotoxicity caused by 5-FU in rats. Thirty male Wistar rats were divided into six groups as follows: control, SLN (5 mg/kg), SIL (5 mg/kg), 5-FU + SLN, 5-FU + SIL, and 5-FU. Cardiotoxicity was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of 5-FU (100 mg/kg). The control group received an intraperitoneal injection (ip) of normal saline and the treatment groups received ips of SIL and SLN for 14 days. 5-FU resulted in significant cardiotoxicity, represented by an increase in the serum levels of cardiac enzymes and malondialdehyde, as well as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) expression, and histopathological degeneration. 5-FU treatment also induced a decrease in body weight, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and catalase values.Evaluation of electrocardiographic parameters in 5-FU-treated rats showed increases in the ST segment, QRS duration, and RR interval. Treatment with SIL and SLN reduced oxidative stress, cardiac enzymes, histopathological degeneration, and the expression of TNF-α and COX-2 in cardiac tissue. Our results demonstrated that treatment with SIL and SLN significantly improved cardiotoxicity induced by 5-FU in rats.

Protective Effect of Adenosine Triphosphate against 5-Fluorouracil-Induced Oxidative Ovarian Damage in vivo

“…The same volume of saline (0.9% NaCl) as the solvent was administered IP to the HG (n=6) and FUG (n=6) groups. One hour after administering ATP and solvent, 5-FU 100 mg/kg was injected IP to the animals in the AFU and FUG groups (Safarpour et al, 2022). ATP was administered to the animals once a day for 10 days.…”

Exploration of the Use of Natural Compounds in Combination with Chemotherapy Drugs for Tumor Treatment

“…The combination of the two can reduce cardiac abnormalities and damage by reducing oxidative stress in cardiomyocytes, increasing the total antioxidant capacity of the heart, and reducing cardiotoxicity caused by 5-fluorouracil treatment [ 130 ]. In addition to these compounds, several studies have found that quercetin, silymarin, asiatic acid, tanshinone IIA, and many other compounds can have some protective effects in the presence of cardiotoxicity from chemotherapy [ 131 , 132 , 133 , 134 , 135 ]. The curcumin mentioned in the previous part of the article also inhibited doxorubicin-induced cardiomyocyte scorching, but this result is controversial [ 136 ].…”

Cardioprotective and Hepatoprotective Potential of Silymarin in Paracetamol-Induced Oxidative Stress

“…Since the cardioprotective effect of silymarin was tested mainly in chemotherapeutic drug-induced [ 15 , 16 , 17 ] or ischemia-induced [ 18 ] cardiotoxicity, the aim of this study was to evaluate the cardioprotective effect of silymarin in paracetamol-induced oxidative stress in mice. The hepatoprotective effect was studied as well.…”