Combination of Morroniside and Diosgenin Prevents High Glucose-Induced Cardiomyocytes Apoptosis

Abstract

Cornus officinalis and Dioscorea opposita are two traditional Chinese medicines widely used in China for treating diabetes mellitus and its complications, such as diabetic cardiomyopathy. Morroniside (Mor) of Cornus officinalis and diosgenin (Dio) of Dioscorea opposita formed an innovative formula named M + D. The aims of the present study were to investigate myocardial protective effect of M + D on diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) through the inhibition of expression levels of caspase-3 protein, and identify the advantage of M + D compared with Mor, Dio, and the positive drug metformin (Met). We detected cell viability, cell apoptosis, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, and the expression levels of Bcl-2, Bax, and caspase-3 protein in rat cardiomyocytes. In result, Mor, Dio, and M + D increased cell viability, inhibited cell apoptosis and decreased ROS levels. Additionally, the expression of Bax and Bcl-2 protein was modulated and the expression levels of caspase-3 protein were markedly decreased. Among the treatment groups, M + D produced the most prominent effects. In conclusion, our data showed for the first time that Mor, Dio, and M + D prevented high glucose (HG)-induced myocardial injury by reducing oxidative stress and apoptosis in rat cardiomyocytes. Among all the groups, M + D produced the strongest effect, while Mor and Dio produced weaker effects.

H3 relaxin inhibits the collagen synthesis via ROS‐ and P2X7R‐mediated NLRP3 inflammasome activation in cardiac fibroblasts under high glucose

“…A primary hallmark of diabetic cardiomyopathy is the progressive damage and death of cardiac cells, resulting in cardiac fibrosis. The onset of diabetic cardiomyopathy is insidious, and while the mechanism remains unclear, it is widely accepted that inflammation plays an important role . Chronic hyperglycaemia and hyperlipidemia may stimulate the secretion of inflammatory factors, leading to cardiac fibrosis in diabetic cardiomyopathy .…”

Corni Fructus: a review of chemical constituents and pharmacological activities

“…Reduce the production of RAGE, NF-κB, TGF-β1, and CML [ 20 ] Ethanol extract High glucose-induced mesangial cells as in vitro diabetic nephropathy model Decrease the production of Col V, FN, and IL-6 [ 24 ] Myocardial protection activity Morroniside High glucose-induced rat as diabetic cardiomyopathy model Inhibit myocardial cell apoptosis. Elevate Bcl-2 production and decrease expressions of Bax and caspase-3 [ 28 ] Triterpene acids STZ-induced rat as diabetic cardiomyopathy model Inhibit the ventricular remodeling and regulate the systolic and diastolic function of the left ventricle. Increase insulin release and reduce serum glucose levels.…”

“…for 10 days and 8 weeks can significantly inhibit both AGE/RAGE formation [ 19 – 22 ] and CTGF production [ 23 ] in db/db mice or STZ-induced diabetic nephropathy model. They can also significantly alleviate diabetic organ injury by decreasing the production of NF-κB and its downstream synthetases and cytokines [ 19 – 25 ], increasing antioxidant enzyme production [ 19 , 26 , 27 ], and suppressing apoptotic cell death [ 27 , 28 ].…”

Evaluation of nine active components of Lu‐Jiao Fang in normal and hypertrophic rat myocardia via LC–MS/MS

“…Shan‐Zhu‐Yu contains a large number of iridoids, such as loganin and morronside (Liang et al, 2013). Loganin was demonstrated to have anti‐inflammatory, antitumor and osteoporosis‐prevention effects (Hwang et al, 2017), and morroniside could prevent high glucose‐induced myocardial injury by reducing oxidative stress and apoptosis in rat cardiomyocytes (Pi, Feng, Ye, & Cai, 2017). Flavonoids such as hesperidin from Chen‐Pi could produce cardioprotective activity via the PPAR‐ γ pathway in an ischemic heart disease model in diabetic rats (Agrawal et al, 2014).…”