Garlic Oil Alleviates MAPKs‐ and IL‐6‐mediated Diabetes‐related Cardiac Hypertrophy in STZ‐induced DM Rats

Abstract

Garlic oil has been reported to protect the cardiovascular system; however, the effects and mechanisms behind the cardioprotection of garlic oil on diabetes-induced cardiaomyopathy are unclear. In this study, we used streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats to investigate whether garlic oil could protect the heart from diabetes-induced cardiomyopathy. Wistar STZ-induced diabetic rats received garlic oil (0, 10, 50 or 100 mg kg_1 body weight) by gastric gavage every 2 days for 16 days. Normal rats without diabetes were used as control. Cardiac contractile dysfunction and cardiac pathologic hypertrophy responses were observed in diabetic rat hearts. Cardiac function was examined using echocardiography. In addition to cardiac hypertrophy-related mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) pathways (e.g., p38, c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) and extracellularly responsive kinase (ERK1/2)), the IL-6/MEK5/ERK5 signaling pathway was greatly activated in the diabetic rat hearts, which contributes to the up-regulation of cardiac pathologic hypertrophy markers including atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), and leads to cardiac contractile dysfunction. Garlic oil treatment significantly inhibited the up-regulation in MAPK (e.g., p38, JNK and ERK1/2) and IL-6/MEK5/ERK5 signaling pathways in the diabetic rat hearts, reducing the levels of cardiac pathologic hypertrophy markers such as ANP and BNP, and improving the cardiac contractile function. Collectively, data from these studies demonstrate that garlic oil shows the potential cardioprotective effects for protecting heart from diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Garlic extracts prevent oxidative stress, hypertrophy and apoptosis in cardiomyocytes: a role for nitric oxide and hydrogen sulfide

“…Consistent, with this view, we found that pretreatment of cardiomyocytes with pharmacological blockers for H 2 S and NO significantly, blocked the anti-hypertrophic action of both garlic skin and flesh extracts. Based on our result we speculate that, upregulation of H 2 S and NO may be mediating some of the mechanisms underlying the antihypertrophic action of garlic observed in earlier studies conducted on animal models of cardiac hypertrophy induced by hypertension [9] and diabetes [8]. …”

“…However, there is no information on the potential of garlic skin; a papery covering surrounding the individual cloves and a by-product of garlic processing. There are only two reports on the effectiveness of garlic in preventing the development of cardiac hypertrophy in animal models of hypertension and diabetes [8,9] however, the mechanisms underlying garlic effects are not explored. Lastly, no study has examined the potential of a variety of hard necked Rocambole purple garlic developed in Manitoba, Canada.…”

Effects of Allicin on Hypertension and Cardiac Function in Chronic Kidney Disease

“…Previous studies demonstrated that garlic oil attenuates the impaired cardiac contractility [23, 24]. Other studies reported that allicin protected cardiac function and prevented the development of cardiac hypertrophy through ROS-dependent mechanism involving multiple intracellular signaling (ERK1/2, JNK1/2 and PI3/Akt/GSK3 β signaling pathways) [25].…”

Roles of Hydrogen Sulfide in the Pathogenesis of Diabetes Mellitus and Its Complications

“…Subsequent studies have demonstrated that these polysulfides release H 2 S in vivo (32) and that they exert cardioprotective potential therapeutic effects via the release of H 2 S (12,44,55). In fact, there are several articles in the literature reporting the beneficial effects of garlic extracts in various models of diabetic complications and wound healing (2,11,18,50). However, in these studies the specific role of H 2 S as a mediator of these therapeutic actions remains to be investigated.…”