Protective effects of ginsenoside Rc against acute cold exposure‐induced myocardial injury in rats

Abstract

Background: Ginsenoside Rc is one of the cardinal bioactive components of Panax ginseng that has been studied for various biological activities. This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of ginsenoside Rc against acute cold exposure induced myocardial injury in rats.Methods: The rats were intragastrically administrated with ginsenoside Rc (10, 20 mg/kg) or vehicle daily for 7 days. One hour after the seventh-day administration, 3% pentobarbital sodium was used to anesthetize the rats. Rats of the control group were kept in room temperature (22 ± 1 ℃) and the other groups of rats were exposed to low ambient temperature (-15 ± 1 ℃) in a cold chamber for 6 h. Cardiac function was monitored and recorded as well. To evaluate the protective effects of ginsenoside Rc, we also measured myocardial speci c enzymes (lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase and creatine kinase-MB) in plasma, whole blood viscosity (WBV), plasma viscosity (PV), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and hematocrit (HCT). The pathological changes of myocardium were observed through histopathological examination. The mRNA expression levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 were by real-time quantitative PCR analysis. And the expressions of silent information regulator1 (SIRT1), B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated X (Bax) and Procaspase-3 in heart tissues were measured by Western blot method.Results: Ginsenoside Rc alone had no effect on cardiac function, myocardial enzyme activities and hemorheology in normal rats. Compared with the model group, pretreatment with ginsenoside Rc signi cantly improved cardiac function, diminished myocardial speci c enzymes release and decreased erythrocyte aggregation index. As a result, the pretreatment regulated abnormal hemorheology, attenuated myocardial histological changes and structural abnormalities, reduced the mRNA expression levels of cardiac in ammatory markers. Ginsenoside Rc also resulted in up-regulating SIRT1, Bcl-2 and Procaspase-3 expressions and down-regulating Bax expression. Conclusion:The current study suggests that ginsenoside Rc alleviates acute cold exposure induced myocardial injury in rats by inhibiting cardiomyocyte apoptosis via SIRT1 and reducing in ammatory response.Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer (P. ginseng) is an herbal plant that has been used as a traditional medicine in Asian countries for thousands of years. Ginsenosides are the principle active constituent found in P. ginseng and exhibit anti-oxidative, anti-in ammatory and anti-cancer activities (5-7). Ginsenoside Rc is one of protopanaxadiol type ginsenosides that has been studied for various biological activities (8-10) (Fig. 1). It is reported that ginsenoside Rc can suppress oxidative stress by in uencing FoxO1 activity via Akt pathway in human embryo kidney 293T cells (10).The mammalian sirtuins are a highly conserved family of NAD + -dependent enzymes that regulate cellular stress resistance, energy metabolism, genomic stability and tumorigenesis (11). Silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) is one of the s...

Beneficial effects of Panax notoginseng (Burkill) F. H. Chen flower saponins in rats with metabolic hypertension by inhibiting the activation of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system through complement 3

“…Saponins are the most important active ingredients in P. notoginseng (Burkill) F. H. Chen flower [ 29 , 30 ]. In the present study, we detected that PNFS contained nine saponins, of which the more abundant ginsenoside Rb1, ginsenoside Rg1, ginsenoside Rb3 and ginsenoside Rd all clearly have certain anti-hypertensive effects [ 43 – 46 ], which may be the basis of the anti-hypertensive components of PNFS, while the most abundant ginsenoside Rc and ginsenoside Rb2 are currently reported to have mainly cardioprotective effects [ 47 , 48 ], and whether they have anti-hypertensive effects remains to be further investigated. Previous studies have shown that PNFS can lower blood pressure in SHR, reduce the levels of TC and LDL-c, and regulate lipids in rat hyperlipidemia models [ 36 , 37 , 49 ].…”

Ginseng and ginsenosides on cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases; Pharmacological potentials for the coronavirus (COVID-19)

“…Ginsenoside Rc drastically improved cardiac function, by inhibiting enzymes such as lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase and creatine-kinase isoenzyme in rats. This study suggested that ginsenoside Rc could possibly protect from cold exposure-induced myocardial damage [ 34 ]. Stem-leaf saponins from PNS diminished autophagy and apoptosis in the myocardial cells, this cardiac protective activity studies on mice might be exerted through PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway [ 56 ].…”

Tongxinluo capsule as a multi-functional traditional Chinese medicine in treating cardiovascular disease: A review of components, pharmacological mechanisms, and clinical applications

“…These are considered to be the main pharmacological active ingredients in ginseng. Numerous experimental studies and clinical observations have demonstrated that among ginsenosides, total ginsenoside (TSPG), ginsenoside Rb1, ginsenoside Rd, ginsenoside Rg1, ginsenoside Rg3, ginsenoside Re, ginsenoside Rb3, ginsenoside Rp1, ginsenoside Rp3, and ginsenoside Rc have a positive effect on the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases by antioxidation, controlling vasoconstriction function, regulating ion channels and signal transduction, improving lipid status, regulating blood pressure, improving heart function, and reducing platelet adhesion [ [9] , [10] , [11] , [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] , [17] , [18] , [19] , [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] , [26] , [27] ]. In addition, ginseng phenolic acids, ginseng polysaccharides, and ginsenosides also play beneficial roles in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases [ [28] , [29] , [30] ].…”