Effect of alantolactones on cardiac parameters of animals under artificially induced oxidative stress

Abstract

Purpose: Phytochemicals have been found effective in reducing the oxidative stress and damage to cardiovascular and other tissues. In this study, the effects of alantolactone (AL) on cardiac parameters in rabbits exposed to artificially-induced oxidative stress were investigated.

Method: The oxidative stress was induced in a group of White New Zealand rabbits by injecting 40% hydrogen peroxide solution (1 ml/kg body weight) thrice with an interval of 72 h. The hydrogen peroxide-treated animals were orally treated with AL extracted from the roots of Inula helenium (1 ml/kg repeated thrice after 72 h). Blood samples were taken before and after the hydrogen peroxide and AL treatments, and the sera were subjected to analysis of oxidative damage in terms of malondialdehyde content (MDA), total antioxidant activity (TAOA), linoleic acid reduction capacity (LARC), hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity (HRSC), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging capacity (DPPH RSC), superoxide dismutase activity (SOD) and catalase activity, and cardiac parameters including troponin-I content (Trop-I), creatine kinase-MB (CKMB), aspartate transaminase (AST).

Results: The hydrogen peroxide treatment substantially enhanced MDA content and SOD activity and decreased LARC, HRSC, DPPH, and catalase activity. The AL treatment significantly decreased MDA content, TAOA, Trop-I, CK-MB, and AST levels and increased LARC, DPPH RSC, HRSC, and catalase activity.

Conclusion: The observed effect of AL treatment on the animals' oxidative stress, antioxidant status, and cardiac biomarkers emphasizes that AL may effectively manage oxidative stress and cardiac damage.

Keywords: Alantolactone; Antioxidant potential; Cardiac biomarkers; Free radical scavenging capacity; Inula helenium; Oxidative stress.

Fig. 1

Malondialdehyde levels of different study groups before and after induction of oxidative stress and treatment with alantolactons. ***The p-value indicates the significant variation in malondialdehyde content of animals after induction of oxidative stress and alantolactone treatment at probability p < 0.001. The data is presented as mean ± standard deviation of three replicates. The means values of malondialdehyde content before and after induction of oxidative stress and after alantolactone treatment were compared at a 95% confidence level (p ≤ 0.05) by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) utilizing Duncan’s multiple range test in SPSS version 23.

Fig. 2

Antioxidant potential of different study groups before and after induction of oxidative stress and treatment with alantolactons. a) TAOA: Total antioxidant activity, b) LARC: Linoleic acid reduction capacity **The p-value indicates significant variation in total antioxidant activity of animals after alantolactone treatment at probability p < 0.01.***The p-value indicates the significant variation in total antioxidant activity and linoleic acid reduction capacity of alantolactone-treated animals after induction of oxidative stress at probability p < 0.001. The data is presented as mean ± standard deviation of three replicates. The means values of the studied parameters before and after induction of oxidative stress and after alantolactone treatment were compared at a 95% confidence level (p ≤ 0.05) by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) utilizing Duncan’s multiple range test in SPSS version 23.

Fig. 3

Free radical scavenging capacity of different study groups before and after induction of oxidative stress and treatment with alantolactons. a) DPPH RSC: 2, 2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging capacity, b) HRSC: Hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity ***The p-value indicates the significant elevation in 2, 2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging capacity and hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity of alantolactone-treated animals after induction of oxidative stress at probability p < 0.001. The data is presented as mean ± standard deviation of three replicates. The means values of the studied parameters before and after induction of oxidative stress and after alantolactone treatment were compared at a 95% confidence level (p ≤ 0.05) by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) utilizing Duncan’s multiple range test in SPSS version 23.

Fig. 4

Antioxidant enzyme activity of different study groups before and after induction of oxidative stress and treatment with alantolactons. a) Catalase activity, b) Superoxide dismutase activity *The p-value indicates the significant elevation in Catalase activity of animals after alantolactone treatment at probability p < 0.05. **The p-value indicates the significant decline (p < 0.01) in Catalase activity of animals after induction of oxidative stress at probability p < 0.01. ***The p-value indicates the significant elevation in superoxide dismutase activity of alantolactone treated animals after induction of oxidative stress at probability p < 0.001. The data is presented as mean ± standard deviation of three replicates. The means values of the studied parameters before and after induction of oxidative stress and after alantolactone treatment were compared at a 95% confidence level (p ≤ 0.05) by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) utilizing Duncan’s multiple range test in SPSS version 23.

Fig. 5

Caridac parameters of different study groups before and after induction of oxidative stress and treatment with alantolactons. a) Troponin-I level, b), Creatine kinase-MB level, c) Aspartate amino-transferase activity ***The p-value indicates the significant variation in Troponin-I and Creatine kinase-MB levels and aspartate aminotransferase activity of alantolactone-treated animals after induction of oxidative stress at probability p < 0.001. The data is presented as mean ± standard deviation of three replicates. The means values of the studied parameters before and after induction of oxidative stress and after alantolactone treatment were compared at a 95% confidence level (p ≤ 0.05) by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) utilizing Duncan’s multiple range test in SPSS version 23.

Fig. 6

Percentage variation in oxidative stress and antioxidant potential and cardiac parameters of different study groups before and after induction of oxidative stress and treatment with alantolactons. a) Malondialdehyde (MDA) content, b) TAOA: Total antioxidant activity, c) LARC: Linoleic acid reduction capacity d) DPPH RSC: 2, 2 diphenyl–picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging capacity, e) HRSC: Hydroxyl radical ccavenging capacity f) Catalase activity g) SOD activity: Superoxide dismutase activity, h) Trop-I: Troponin-I level, i) CK-MB: Creatine myoglobin binding, j) AST: Aspartate aminotransferase.