Cardioprotective effects of grape seed proanthocyanidin against ischemic reperfusion injury

There is increasing evidence to indicate cardioprotective effects of red wine consumption. Such cardioprotective properties of wine have been attributed to certain polyphenolic constituents of grapes. The purpose of this investigation was to examine whether proanthocyanidins derived from grape seeds possess cardioprotective properties. Rats were randomly divided into two groups: grape-seed proanthocyanidin was administered orally to one group of rats (100 mg/kg/day) for 3 weeks while the other group served as control. After 3 weeks, rats were killed, hearts excised, mounted on the perfusion apparatus and perfused with Krebs-Henseleit bicarbonate (KHB) buffer. After stabilization hearts were perfused in the working mode for baseline measurements of contractile functions. Hearts were then subjected to 30 min of global ischemia followed by 2 h of reperfusion. Coronary perfusates were collected to monitor malonaldehyde formation, a presumptive marker for oxidative stress development. At the end of each experiment, the heart was processed for infarct size determination. Peroxyl radical scavenging activity of proanthocyanidin was determined by examining its ability to remove peroxyl radical generated by 2,2'-azobis (2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride while hydroxyl radical scavenging activity was tested with its ability to reduce 7-OH.-coumarin-3-carboxylic acid. The results of our study demonstrated that proanthocyanidin-fed animals were resistant to myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury as evidenced by improved recovery of post-ischemic contractile functions. The proanthocyanidin-fed group revealed reduced extent of myocardial infarction compared to the control group. Fluorimetric study demonstrated the antioxidant property of proanthocyanidin as judged by its ability to directly scavenge peroxyl radicals. Taken together, the results of this study showed that grape seed-proanthocyanidins possess a cardioprotective effect against ischemia reperfusion injury. Such cardioprotective property, at least in part, may be attributed to its ability to directly scavenge peroxyl and hydroxyl radicals and to reduce oxidative stress developed during ischemia and reperfusion.