The influence of the methanol extract of Galium verum on cardiac oxidative damage in hypertensive rats in a model of global ischemia

Abstract

Galium verum (G. verum, Lady ҆s bedstraw) is a perennial herbaceous plant that has been used for centuries as a sedative, an anticancer agent, in the treatment of gout, epilepsy, as antioxidant. Previous studies confirmed cardioprotective properties of this plant species extract in animal models of heart dysfunction, however, the impact of G. verum consumption on cardiac redox state in a condition of global ischemia has not been fully clarified. Therefore, our goal was to examine the effect of G. verum methanol extract on cardiac redox state in spontaneously hypertensive rats in the model of global ischemia. The study involved 20 Wistar kyoto spontaneously hypertensive rats, divided into a control (CTRL) and an experimental group (GVE). CTRL group included untreated rats, while the GVE group included rats that received 100 mg/kg of the methanol extract of G. verum for 14 days. After the treatment protocol, animals were sacrificed, and the hearts of all rats were isolated and subjected to 20-minute ischemia followed by a 30-minute reperfusion period. After accomplishment of the experimental protocol (ex vivo ischemia-reperfusin injury), heart tissue samples were used to determine the markers of cardiac oxidative stress such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), reduced glutathione (GSH) and index of lipid peroxidation (TBARS). The results have shown that methanol extract of G. verum increased the level of GSH and the activity of SOD and CAT in the experimental group, while reduced TBARS levels compared to the CTRL group. It might be concluded that treatment with G. verum extract can attenuate oxidative damage resulting from ischemia-reperfusion injury in the hearts of spontaneously hypertensive rats.