Coronary Artery Disease: Qiao H

Wu L, Qiao H, Li Y, Li L. · College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China. · Phytomedicine. · Pubmed #17870452 No free full text.

Abstract: Ischemic heart diseases have been the leading cause of death in both developed and developing countries over the past decades. The aim of this study was to investigate the cardioprotective effects of the complex preparation (called Shenge), made of puerarin (isolated from Pueraria lobata Ohwi., also called Kudzu) and Danshensu (isolated from the Chinese herb, Salvia miltiorrhiza), on acute ischemic myocardial injury in rats and its underlying mechanisms. The left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery was occluded to induce myocardial ischemia in the hearts of SD rats. Shenge was injected into the tail vein 15 min after occlusion at doses of 0, 30, 60, or 120 mg/kg body wt. ST elevation was then measured at 60, 120, and 240 min after Shenge administration. The ischemic size, serum levels of creatine kinase isoenzyme-MB (CK-MB), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA), and ST elevation were measured after the rats were sacrificed. Shenge decreased ST elevation induced by acute myocardial ischemia, reduced ischemic size, serum levels of CK-MB, LDH and MDA, and increased serum activity of SOD in a dose-dependent manner. The combined use of puerarin and Danshensu at a ratio of 1:1 showed the most effective activity. In conclusion, Shenge exerts significant cardioprotective effects against acute ischemic myocardial injury in rats, likely through its antioxidant and anti-lipid peroxidation properties, and thus may be an effective and promising medicine for both prophylaxis and treatment of ischemic heart disease.

He H, Shi M, Yang J, Zeng X, Qiao H, Wu L, Li L. · Institute of Chinese Herbal Medicine, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. · Phytother Res. · Pubmed #18389490 No free full text.

Abstract: Emerging evidence indicates that angiogenesis may be a potential new target in treating heart failure (HF). It was hypothesized that a lack of angiogenesis would correlate with an abnormal expression of sarco/endoplasmic reticulum ATPase 2a (SERCA2a) and phospholamban (PLB), and the activated endothelin (ET) pathway and oxidative stress in HF. If this is the case, such normal changes could be reversed by puerarin. HF was produced by coronary artery ligation for 4 weeks in rats. The rats were divided into three groups: sham, HF untreated and HF + puerarin (120 mg/kg per day, i.p.). Hemodynamic and echocardiographic changes, angiogenesis, cardiac morphology, serum biochemistry, mRNA and proteins of the angiogenesis pathway, the ET pathway and redox were measured. In the HF rats, hemodynamic and echocardiographic abnormalities, cardiac remodeling and histological changes with features of cardiac failure were associated with a lack of the angiogenesis pathway, accompanied by oxidative stress, an up-regulated ET pathway and abnormal SERCA2a and PLB expressions in HF rats. Puerarin significantly promoted angiogenesis and reversed the above changes. In conclusion, the absence of the angiogenesis pathway correlated with abnormal expression of SERCA2a and PLB and an activated ET-ROS (reactive oxygen species) system in the affected myocardium. Puerarin promoted the angiogenesis pathway, improved myocardial microcirculation and down-regulated the ET system, resulting in a reversal of the abnormalities of expression of SERCA2a and PLB, and the cardiac performance in HF.

Wu L, Qiao H, Li Y, Li L. · College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China. · Phytother Res. · Pubmed #17450507 No free full text.

Abstract: Ischemic heart diseases are the leading cause of death in both developed and developing countries over the past decades. The aim of this study was to investigate the cardioprotective effects of the complex preparation (called Shenge), made of puerarin and Danshensu, on acute ischemic myocardial injury in rats and its underlying mechanisms. The left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery was occluded to induce myocardial ischemia in hearts of SD rats. Shenge was injected into the tail vein 15 min after occlusion at doses of 0, 30, 60 or 120 mg/kg. Then, the ST elevation was measured at 60, 120 and 240 min after Shenge administration. The infarct size, serum levels of creatine kinase isoenzyme-MB (CK-MB), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA), and the ST elevation were measured after the rats were killed. Shenge decreased the ST elevation induced by acute myocardial ischemia, reduced infarct size, serum levels of CK-MB, LDH and MDA and increased the serum activity of SOD in a dose-dependent manner. The combined use of puerarin and Danshensu at a ratio of 1:1 shows the most effective activity. In conclusion, Shenge exerts significant cardioprotective effects against acute ischemic myocardial injury in rats, likely through its antioxidant and antilipid peroxidation properties, and thus may be used as an effective and promising medicine for both prophylaxis and treatment of ischemic heart disease.