Ameliorative Effect of Cardamom Aqueous Extract on Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity in Rats

This study was conducted to evaluate the potential cardioprotective effect of cardamom (CAR) against myocardial injuries induced by doxorubicin (DOX) in rats through investigation of histological alterations and the associated oxidative stress, apoptosis, inflammation, and angiogenesis. This study included 30 adult male albino rats that were randomized to 3 groups (n = 10/group): group I (control), group II (DOX) rats injected with DOX (2.5 mg/kg body weight [BW] i.p.) every other day for 2 weeks, and group III (CAR+DOX) received CAR extract (200 mg/kg BW) orally for 3 weeks, and 1 week later (starting from the 2nd week) they were injected with DOX (2.5 mg/kg BW i.p.) every other day for 2 weeks. Rats treated with DOX alone exhibited notable myocardial damage (discontinuity and disorganization of cardiac muscle fibers, mononuclear cell infiltration, and apparent increases in collagen fiber deposition) accompanied by loss of function (revealed by elevated serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase, and cardiac troponin), induction of oxidative stress (indicated by higher levels of nitric oxide and malon-dialdehyde, and lower levels of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase), apoptosis (evidenced by high caspase 3 activity and immunostaining), and inflammation (marked by high cardiac NFκB level). However, administration of CAR not only ameliorated all deleterious effects of DOX but also induced angiogenesis, as indicated by a significant increase in VEGF immunoreactivity. These data indicate that CAR could relieve DOX-induced cardiotoxicity, at least in part, via reductions in oxidative stress, apoptosis, and inflammation and increased tissue regeneration via induction of angiogenesis. Therefore, CAR could be a promising cytoprotective agent against DOX cardiotoxicity.