The Protective Effect of Lycopene on Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury in Rat Hind Limb Muscle Model

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Acute ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury of skeletal muscle, an important mortality and morbidity cause, is associated with oxidative stress. Lycopene is a carotenoid pigment with potent antioxidant activity and is found in vegetables and fruits. This study aims to investigate the protective effects of lycopene against I/R injury in rat hind limb muscle model. METHODS:Thirty-two Wistar-albino rats were randomly allocated to control, lycopene, I/R and I/R+lycopene groups. In lycopene and I/R+lycopene groups, the rats received 10 mg/kg/day lycopene orally for 15 days before the experiment. Dissection around abdominal aorta at the infrarenal level was performed in all rats under general anesthesia. The aorta was clamped at the infrarenal level in the I/R and I/R+lycopene groups for two hours. Then, reperfusion was allowed for two hours in these groups. Samples were obtained from the hind limb muscles of rats after sacrifice for biochemical and histopathological analyses. RESULTS:Serum and tissue malondialdehyde and ischemia-modified albumin levels were significantly lower in the I/R+lycopene group compared to I/R group (p<0.001). Serum glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels were significantly lower in the I/R group compared to those in control and I/R+lycopene groups (p<0.05). Tissue GSH-Px levels were significantly lower in the I/R group compared to the Lycopene group (p=0.003). Serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels were significantly lower in the I/R group compared to three groups (p<0.001). Tissue SOD levels were significantly lower in the I/R group compared to those in control and Lycopene groups (p=0.005). Histopathological assessments revealed that inflammatory changes following I/R injury were significantly reduced in the I/ R+lycopene group. CONCLUSION:The findings obtained in this study show lycopene's cytoprotective activity against I/R injury in rat skeletal muscle model.

The sources, properties, extraction, biosynthesis, pharmacology, and application of lycopene

“…143 After treatment with lycopene on acute ischemia-reperfusion injury of rat hind limb musculoskeletal muscle, the levels of malondialdehyde and ischemia-modified albumin in serum and tissue were significantly reduced, indicating that lycopene exhibited protective activity on skeletal muscle cell of I/R injury model rats. 144 Therefore, the osteoporosis inhibitive effect of lycopene was mainly assayed through in vitro and in vivo experiments. The mice were used in in vivo experiments with a dosage range of 10–45 mg kg −1 and a medication cycle of 15–84 days.…”

Phytochemicals as Therapeutic Interventions in Peripheral Artery Disease

“…Although no studies have assessed the effectiveness of α- or β-carotene supplementation in preclinical or clinical limb ischemia, lycopene ( Figure 1 K) has been studied in this context. In rats with HLI, induced by clamping of the abdominal aortae, feeding 10 mg/kg/day for 15 days prior to ischemic induction protected hindlimb skeletal muscles from atrophy and necrosis [ 133 ]. Lycopene has also been shown to protect against injury due to other forms of ischemia, including myocardial [ 134 ] and cerebral [ 135 ] ischemia.…”