Ellagic acid ameliorates isoproterenol induced oxidative stress: Evidence from electrocardiological, biochemical and histological study

The present study was designed to evaluate the cardioprotective effects of ellagic acid against isoproterenol induced myocardial infarction in rats by studying electrocardiography, blood pressure, cardiac markers, lipid peroxidation, antioxidant defense system and histological changes. Male Wistar rats were treated orally with ellagic acid (7.5 and 15mg/kg) daily for a period of 10 days. After 10 days of pretreatment, isoproterenol (100mg/kg) was injected subcutaneously to rats at an interval of 24h for 2 days to induce myocardial infarction. Isoproterenol administered rats showed significant changes in the electrocardiogram pattern, arterial pressure, and heart rate. Isoproterenol-induced rats also showed significant (P<0.05) increase in the levels of serum troponin-I, creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, C-reactive protein, plasma homocysteine, heart tissue thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and lipid hydro peroxides. The activities/levels of antioxidant system were decreased in isoproterenol-induced rats. The histopathological findings of the myocardial tissue evidenced myocardial damage in isoproterenol induced rats. The oral pretreatment of ellagic acid restored the pathological electrocardiographic patterns, regulated the arterial blood pressures and heart rate in the isoproterenol induced myocardial infarcted rats. The ellagic acid pretreatment significantly reduced the levels of biochemical markers, lipid peroxidation and significantly increased the activities/levels of the antioxidant system in the isoproterenol induced rats. An inhibited myocardial necrosis was evidenced by the histopathological findings in ellagic acid pretreated isoproterenol induced rats. Our study shows that oral pretreatment of ellagic acid prevents isoproterenol induced oxidative stress in myocardial infarction.