Abstract
The traditional Chinese medicinal herb Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza),
first recorded in the “Shen Nongʼs Herbal Classic”, has long been used to
treat cardiovascular conditions, although the mechanism(s) underlying its
effects remain unclear. Here, an iron dextran injection
(50 mg · kg−1 per day) was delivered intraperitoneally to
establish a mouse model for investigating the ameliorative effects of
Danshen injection (low dose at 3 g · kg−1 per day or high dose at
6 g · kg−1 per day) on iron overload-induced cardiac damage.
The iron-chelating agent deferoxamine (100 mg · kg−1 per day) was
administered as a positive control. The main constituents of Danshen
injection, salvianic acid A (danshensu), protocatechuic aldehyde, and
salvianolic acid B, were quantified at concentrations of 2.15, 0.44, and
1.01 mg · mL−1, respectively, using HPLC with UV detection.
Danshen injection significantly lowered cardiac iron deposition and the
concentration of the lipid oxidation product malondialdehyde, as well as
improved cardiac superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase levels in
iron-overloaded mice. Serum levels of creatine kinase, creatine kinase
isoenzyme, and lactate dehydrogenase in the iron-overloaded mice were
significantly elevated (up to ~ 160 %), whereas their activities were
downregulated by Danshen injection by 25 ~ 35 % at the high dose and by
~ 20 % at the low dose. Morphological changes of cardiac tissue analyzed by
hematoxylin and eosin staining indicated that lesions induced by iron
overload could be ameliorated by Danshen injection dose-dependently.
Altogether, these results illustrated that the protective effects of Danshen
injection were at least in part due to decreased iron deposition and
inhibition of lipid peroxidation.
Key words
Salvia miltiorrhiza
- Lamiaceae - cardioprotection - antioxidation - HPLC-UV
