Amelioration of adriamycin-induced cardiotoxicity by Salsola kali aqueous extract is mediated by lowering oxidative stress

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the cardioprotective effect of the Salsola kali aqueous extract against adriamycin (ADR)-induced cardiotoxicity in male Swiss albino mice.

Methods: The aqueous extract of S. kali was phytochemically screened by traditional methods for different classes and further evaluated for antioxidant activity in vitro. In vivo, cardioprotective evaluation of the extract was designed to have four groups of mice: (1) control group (distilled water, orally; normal saline, intraperitoneally (i.p.)); (2) ADR group (15 mg/kg, i.p.); (3) aqueous S. kali extract (200 mg/kg, orally); and (4) ADR + S. kali group. ADR (5 mg/kg) was injected three times over 2 weeks while S. kali was orally administered daily for 3 weeks (1 week before and 2 weeks during ADR treatment). Cardioprotective properties were assessed using biochemical and histopathological approaches.

Results: ADR caused a significant increase in serum enzymes (lactate dehydrogenase, creatine phosphokinase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase). Myocardial levels of malondialdehyde, nitric oxide, and reduced glutathione, as well as the activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase increased while the activities of glutathione peroxidase and glutathione S-transferase declined. Histopathological examination of heart sections revealed that ADR caused myofibrils loss, necrosis and cytoplasmic vacuolization.

Discussion: Pretreatment with S. kali aqueous extract normalized serum and antioxidant enzymes minimized lipid peroxidation and cardiac damage. These results have suggested that the extract has antioxidant activity, indicating that the mechanism of cardioprotection during ADR treatment is mediated by lowering oxidative stress.

Keywords: Antioxidants; Cardiotoxicity; Chenopodiaceae; Free radicals; Histopathology.

Figure 1.

Superoxide radical scavenging activity of S. kali extract at different concentrations, all values are expressed as mean ± SD (n = 3).

Figure 2.

Photomicrograph of mouse heart from (A) control mice showing normal morphology (magnification: ×40) (scale bar = 500 µm); (B) heart section of S. kali-treated mice showing normal morphology (magnification: ×20) (scale bar = 500 µm). (C) Heart section of ADR-treated mice showing necrosis (N) and lymphocytic infiltration (Ly) (magnification: ×20) (scale bar = 1000 µm); (D) Heart section of ADR-treated mice showing perinuclear vacuolization (V) (magnification: ×20) (scale bar = 1000 µm); (E) Heart section of S. kali + ADR treated mice showing no significant necrosis of muscle fiber with mild edema (magnification: ×20) (scale bar = 1000 µm).