Anti-apoptotic potential of gymnemic acid phospholipid complex pretreatment in Wistar rats with experimental cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyocyte apoptosis in heart failure has been the topic of research in many recent studies. In the present investigation, the potential cardioprotective effect of gymnemic acid phospholipid complex (GPC) on myocardial apoptosis and cardiac function was studied in doxorubicin (DOX; 30 mg/kg/ip/single dose)-induced cardiomyopathy model in rats. Doxorubicin induced cardiomyopathy was evidenced by significant hemodynamic changes (increased systolic, diastolic, mean arterial pressure and heart rate), decreased heart weight to body weight ratio, increase in serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and Ca2+ levels and decrease in myocardial Na+/K+ ATPase levels along with caspase-3 activation. A marked reduction in glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, glutathione-S-transferase, superoxide dismutase and catalase levels along with increase in the levels of thiobarbituric acids (TBARS) were also observed in rat myocardium. In addition, DNA laddering observed on agarose gel electrophoresis and cardiac histopathology study further supplemented myocardial apoptosis. Pre-treatment with GPC significantly reduced DOX-induced cardiac toxicity, including improvement of hemodynamic variables and heart weight to body weight ratio, decreased serum Ca2+ level and LDH levels, myocardial caspase-3 levels, increased Na+/K+ ATPase levels and decreased myocardial TBARS levels and elevated antioxidant enzymes as compared to pathogenic control group. Further, the anti-apoptotic effect of GPC was verified by prevention of internucleosomal DNA laddering on agarose gel electrophoresis and attenuation of histopathological perturbations by doxorubicin. These observations demonstrate that GPC might serve as a cardioprotective formulation in DOX-induced cardiomyopathy in rats.