Effectiveness of Panax ginseng on Acute Myocardial Ischemia Reperfusion Injury Was Abolished by Flutamide via Endogenous Testosterone-Mediated Akt Pathway

Mechanisms for Panax ginseng’s cardioprotective effect against ischemia reperfusion injury involve the estrogen-mediated pathway, but little is known about the role of androgen. A standardized Panax ginseng extract (RSE) was orally given with or without flutamide in a left anterior descending corona...

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Published in:Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine 2013-01, Vol.2013 (2013), p.1-9
Main Authors: Shaozhen, Hou, Pei, Luo, Gengting, Dong, Tingbo, Chen, Liu, Liang, Zhou, Hua
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
1-Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase
AKT protein
Androgen receptors
Androgens
Cardiovascular disease
Chinese medicine
Coronary artery
Coronary vessels
Endocrinology
Ethanol
Flutamide
Ginseng
Heart attacks
Herbal medicine
Hormones
Ischemia
Laboratory animals
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial ischemia
Panax ginseng
Physiology
Reperfusion
Rodents
Testosterone
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Summary:Mechanisms for Panax ginseng’s cardioprotective effect against ischemia reperfusion injury involve the estrogen-mediated pathway, but little is known about the role of androgen. A standardized Panax ginseng extract (RSE) was orally given with or without flutamide in a left anterior descending coronary artery ligation rat model. Infarct size, CK and LDH activities were measured. Time-related changes of NO, PI3K/Akt/eNOS signaling, and testosterone concentration were also investigated. RSE (80 mg/kg) significantly inhibited myocardial infarction and CK and LDH activities, while coadministration of flutamide abolished this effect of RSE. NO was increased by RSE and reached a peak after 15 min of ischemia; however, flutamide cotreatment suppressed this elevation. Western blot analysis showed that RSE significantly reversed the decreases of expression and activation of PI3K, Akt, and eNOS evoked by ischemia, whereas flutamide attenuated the effects of these protective mechanisms induced by RSE. RSE completely reversed the dropping of endogenous testosterone level induced by I/R injury. Flutamide plus RSE treatment not only abolished RSE’s effect but also produced a dramatic change on endogenous testosterone level after pretreatment and ischemia. Our results for the first time indicate that blocking androgen receptor abolishes the ability of Panax ginseng to protect the heart from myocardial I/R injury.
ISSN:1741-427X
1741-4288
DOI:10.1155/2013/817826