ABSTRACT
Objective: To study the protective effect of the water extract from Paeoniae Radix Rubra (WEPRR) against myocardial ischemia in mice induced by isoproterenol (ISO). Methods: The mice were randomly divided into six groups: positive control, normal control, model, low-, mid-, and high-dose [0.3, 0.6, and 1.2 g/(kg·d)] WEPRR groups. The mice in WEPRR groups were ig administered with WEPRR, the mice in the positive control group were ig administered with 0.98% Di'ao Xinxue Kang [(0.195 g/(kg·d)], and the mice in normal and model groups were ig administered with the same volume of physiological saline once daily for consecutive 11 d. On the day 7 from the beginning of the ig administration, the mice in the model and WEPRR groups were ip perfused with 0.02 g/(kg·d) ISO. After 15 min of the last medication, the mice were anesthetized with isoflurane gas, the blood was collected through venous sinus of eye orbit, then the mice were killed. The heart tissues were rapidly removed from the mice, washed in physiological saline, soaked in filter paper, and stored in -80 C until use. The activities of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB), creatine kinase (CK) in serum, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the heart of mice were determined, respectively. Results: Compared with the model group, the activities of LDH, CK-MB, and CK in serum, and the SOD of mice in the positive control and WEPRR groups were increased and the content of MDA in heart was decreased. Conclusion: The WEPRR has the cardioprotective activities on ISO-induced myocardial ischemia. © 2013 Tianjin Press of Chinese Herbal Medicines.