Cardioprotective activity of chalcones in ischemia/reperfusion-induced myocardial infarction in albino rats.

Background: There is a comprehensive body of experimental and clinical evidence suggesting that exogenous supplementation of natural antioxidants or augmentation of endogenous antioxidants attenuates the damage caused by myocardial infarction.

Objective: To evaluate the cardioprotective effects of Cl-chalcone and F-chalcone against ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced myocardial infarction in rats.

Methods: Myocardial infarct size was measured using the staining agent 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride. Malondialdehyde was measured in serum and heart tissue, and superoxide dismutase and catalase in heart tissue were measured spectrophotometrically.

Results: I/R resulted in significant cardiac necrosis, indicated by a rise in the end products of myocardial lipid peroxidation (malondialdehydes). A loss of antioxidative enzymes (superoxide dismutase and catalase) in heart tissue was also observed in animals subjected to in vivo myocardial I/R injury.

Discussion: The present study demonstrated that treatment with Cl-chalcone and F-chalcone significantly limited infarct size, partially but significantly attenuated the level of lipid peroxidation and moderated the loss of antioxidant reserves in rats subjected to 30 min coronary artery occlusion followed by a 4 h reperfusion in comparison with I/R groups.

Conclusions: The results of the present study suggest that chalcones have cardioprotective activity against I/R-induced myocardial infarction in rats.