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Review
. 2021 Jan 14:11:570867.
doi: 10.3389/fphar.2020.570867. eCollection 2020.

Saponins in Chinese Herbal Medicine Exerts Protection in Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury: Possible Mechanism and Target Analysis

Ruiying Wang  1   2   3   4   5 , Min Wang  1   2   3   4   5 , Jiahui Zhou  1   2   3   4   5 , Daoshun Wu  1   2   3   4   5 , Jingxue Ye  1 , Guibo Sun  1   2   3   4   5 , Xiaobo Sun  1   2   3   4   5
Affiliations
Review

Saponins in Chinese Herbal Medicine Exerts Protection in Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury: Possible Mechanism and Target Analysis

Ruiying Wang et al. Front Pharmacol. .

Abstract

Myocardial ischemia is a high-risk disease among middle-aged and senior individuals. After thrombolytic therapy, heart tissue can potentially suffer further damage, which is called myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI). At present, the treatment methods and drugs for MIRI are scarce and cannot meet the current clinical needs. The mechanism of MIRI involves the interaction of multiple factors, and the current research hotspots mainly include oxidative stress, inflammation, calcium overload, energy metabolism disorders, pyroptosis, and ferroptosis. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has multiple targets and few toxic side effects; clinical preparations containing Panax ginseng C. A. Mey., Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F. H. Chen, Aralia chinensis L., cardioprotection, and other Chinese herbal medicines have been used to treat patients with coronary heart disease, angina pectoris, and other cardiovascular diseases. Studies have shown that saponins are the main active substances in TCMs containing Panax ginseng C. A. Mey., Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F. H. Chen, Aralia chinensis L., and Radix astragali. In the present review, we sorted the saponin components with anti-MIRI effects and their regulatory mechanisms. Each saponin can play a cardioprotective role via multiple mechanisms, and the signaling pathways involved in different saponins are not the same. We found that more active saponins in Panax ginseng C. A. Mey. are mainly dammar-type structures and have a strong regulatory effect on energy metabolism. The highly active saponin components of Aralia chinensis L. are oleanolic acid structures, which have significant regulatory effects on calcium homeostasis. Therefore, saponins in Chinese herbal medicine provide a broad application prospect for the development of highly effective and low-toxicity anti-MIRI drugs.

Keywords: aralia saponins; ginsenosides; mechanism; myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury; saponins; traditional Chinese medicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Graphical summary of MIRI mechanism.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
A schematic representation of mechanisms of saponins from Ginseng exerted cardioprotective effects in MIRI. Glc, glucose; Rha, rhamnose; Xyl, xylopyranose. ↑means activate relevant pathways. ↓means suppress relevant pathways.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
A schematic representation of mechanisms of saponins from Aralia exerted cardioprotective effects in MIRI. Glc, glucose; Gal, galactose; Xyl, xylopyranose. ↑means activate relevant pathways. ↓means suppress relevant pathways.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Mechanism of anti-MIRI of saponins in Chinese Herbal Medicine. The saponins in Panax ginseng, Panax notoginseng, Aralia, Astragalus and other Chinese herbal medicine can significantly alleviate MIRI. These saponins inhibit oxidative stress, energy metabolism disorder, calcium overload, inflammation and apoptosis, and thus exert the cardioprotective effect.
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