|
 |
| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
|
| Year : 2020 | Volume
: 41
| Issue : 2 | Page : 130-135 |
|
|
Pharmacodynamic interaction of Tinospora cordifolia Willd. With Ocimum sanctum Linn. in isoproterenol-induced cardiac toxicity
Chetan Savant1, VH Kulkarni1, PV Habbu2, Preeti V Kulkarni1, Muhammed Majeed3, Mahadeva Nayak3
1 Department of Pharmacology, SET's College of Pharmacy, Dharwad, Karnataka, India
2 Department of Pharmacognosy, SET's College of Pharmacy, Dharwad, Karnataka, India
3 R and D, Sami Labs Limited, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
| Date of Submission | 22-Jun-2019 |
| Date of Decision | 19-Sep-2019 |
| Date of Acceptance | 06-Jul-2021 |
| Date of Web Publication | 23-Oct-2021 |
Correspondence Address:
Chetan Savant
Department of Pharmacology, SET's College of Pharmacy, Dharwad - 580 008, Karnataka
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/ayu.AYU_127_19
 Abstract | | |
Background: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of deaths despite several advancements in the current medical interventions. Among them, myocardial infarction (MI) is the most alarming disease as about 17.1 million peoples die every year due to MI. Aim: The present study was designed to investigate the potential cardioprotective effect of combination of standardized extracts of Tinospora cordifolia (SETC) (250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg) and Ocimum sanctum (SEOS) (50 mg/kg) in isoproterenol (ISO)-induced MI. Materials and methods: MI was induced in rats by subcutaneous injection of ISO for 2 consecutive days at an interval of 24 h. Rats were pretreated with test drugs for the period of 21 days, and ISO was administered on the 20th and 21st days. At the end of experiment, i.e., on 22nd-day electrocardiograph, a hemodynamic, biochemical, and histopathological study of heart tissues was evaluated from control and experimental groups and statistically analyzed by one-way analysis of variance followed by Tukey's test. Results: ISO-administered rats showed significant changes in electrocardiograph, mean arterial blood pressure, heart rate, biochemical markers, antioxidant parameters, and histopathology of heart. The activities of cardiac biomarkers were reduced in serum, and there was an increase in antioxidants in heart tissue of test drug-treated animals. Similarly, electrocardiograph, mean arterial blood pressure, and heart rate were restored to normalcy in all test and standard drug-treated animals. Conclusion: The SETC 500 mg/kg in combination with SEOS 50 mg/kg was found to be effective in prevention of myocardial injury induced by ISO.
Keywords: Cardiac toxicity, isoproterenol, Ocimum sanctum and Tinospora cordifolia
How to cite this article:
Savant C, Kulkarni V H, Habbu P V, Kulkarni PV, Majeed M, Nayak M. Pharmacodynamic interaction of Tinospora cordifolia Willd. With Ocimum sanctum Linn. in isoproterenol-induced cardiac toxicity. AYU 2020;41:130-5 |
How to cite this URL:
Savant C, Kulkarni V H, Habbu P V, Kulkarni PV, Majeed M, Nayak M. Pharmacodynamic interaction of Tinospora cordifolia Willd. With Ocimum sanctum Linn. in isoproterenol-induced cardiac toxicity. AYU [serial online] 2020 [cited 2023 Jun 9];41:130-5. Available from: https://www.ayujournal.org/text.asp?2020/41/2/130/329119 |
| Introduction | |  |
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of deaths despite several advancements in the current medical interventions. Among them, myocardial infarction (MI) is the most alarming disease as about 17.1 million people die every year due to MI.[1] The death toll is expected to rise up to 20 million and will be a leading cause of death worldwide by 2025.[2] Risk factors for MI are hypercholesterolemia, increased level of low-density lipoprotein, diabetes, hyperlipoproteinemia, high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, and older age.[3] Isoproterenol (ISO) is a synthetic catecholamine and β-adrenergic agonist which increases heart rate and exhausts energy reservoir of cardiac cells leading to cell death. It causes myocardial cell death via multiple modes. It manifests by its stimulation to sarcolemmal adenylate cyclase and Ca2+ and Na+ channels resulting in increased influx of Ca2+ and energy consumption that leads to cell death.[4]
Advancement in novel drug discovery technology and search for novel chemical diversity has intensified for exploring lead from Ayurveda. These days drugs from plant origin are used extensively for the treatment of various diseases due to their less toxicity and high efficacy, and the World Health Organization has also recommended the evaluation of the efficacy of plant origin drugs in disease condition where there is a lack of safe modern drugs.[5] Combined use of herbs with drugs may mimic, increase, or decrease the effects of either component, resulting in clinically important herb–drug or herb–herb interactions.[6] At present, our understanding of the interactions between drugs and herbs and between herbs, drugs, and food is less. Much more research is still required in herbal therapy to examine individual plant active constituents and to determine how plant constituents interact with drugs and food.[7]
Tinospora cordifolia belonging to the family of Menispermaceae is popularly known as “Giloya.” T. cordifolia is widely used in Ayurvedic System of Medicine as a tonic, vitalizer, and as a remedy for metabolic disorders and is used in veterinary folk medicine.[8] Previously, it was reported that T. cordifolia extract ameliorates cardiac toxicity induced by ischemia-reperfusion,[9] calcium chloride,[10] cadmium,[11] and doxorubicin.[12]. Ocimum sanctum (the holy basil) belongs to the family Lamiaceae and is reported to have antioxidant properties. O. sanctum is used especially for treating various types of diseases and lowering blood glucose and to treat cold, fever, parasitic infestations, and inflammation of joints.[13] O.sanctum also has significant cardioprotective activity in ISO,[14],[15],[16] ischemia-reperfusion,[17] and anemic hypoxia-induced cardiac toxicity.[18]
Hence, it is worthwhile to determine the effect of either alone and in combination of two potential cardioprotective herbs, namely of standardized extracts of T. cordifolia (SETC) and standardized extracts O. sanctum (SEOS) in ISO-induced cardiotoxicity.
| Materials and methods | | |
Chemicals
Standardized aqueous extract of aerial parts of T. cordifolia and standardized methanolic leaf extract of O. sanctum were obtained from SAMI Labs Limited, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. ISO was purchased from TCI Chemicals (India) Pvt. Ltd. Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and creatine phosphokinase (CPK) standard kits were purchased from local distributors. All chemicals used in the study were of analytical grade.
Experimental animals
Experiments were carried out using male albino Wistar rats weighing 150–200g. They were housed in polypropylene cages (47 cm × 34 cm × 20 cm) lined with husk and renewed every 24 h under a 12:12 h light-dark cycle at an ambient temperature (25°C ± 1°C) and relative humidity (50% ± 10%). The animals had free access to water and food, ad libitum. The animals were fed on a standard pellet diet. The experiment was carried out according to the guidelines of the committee for the purpose of control and supervision of experiments on animals and approved by the Animal Ethical Committee of SET's College of Pharmacy (Reg. No. 112/PO/ReS/1999/CPCSEA, letter dated February 07, 2017), Dharwad, Karnataka, India.
Dose selection
Based on the literature survey, rat doses 250 and 500 mg/kg for SETC[9] and 50 mg/kg for SEOS were selected.[14] Cardiac toxicity was induced by administration of ISO at the dose 85 mg/kg subcutaneously (s.c.) on the 20th and 21st days at an interval of 24h.[19]
Experimental protocol
The male albino Wistar rats were divided into 7 groups of 6 animals each, i.e. Group I received distilled water (vehicle control) at 1 ml/kg p.o.; Group II ISO control 85 mg/kg s.c.; Groups III and IV received SETC at 250 and 500 mg/kg p.o., respectively; Group V received SEOS extract at 50 mg/kg p.o.; Group VI received SETC 250 mg/kg + SEOS 50 mg/kg p.o.; and Group VII received SETC 500 mg/kg + SEOS 50 mg/kg p.o. For oral treatments, SETC and SEOS were suspended in 0.3% tragacanth and oral application volume for all treatments was 10 ml/kg/day. All the animals were treated orally per day using oral feeding syringe and needle for 21 days.
Isoproterenol-induced myocardial necrosis in rats
After treatment, animals from Groups II–VII were administered with ISO at 85 mg/kg s.c. for 2 consecutive days on the 20th and 21st days[19]. After 24 h, of final subcutaneous injection of ISO, electrocardiograph and mean arterial blood pressure were measured using data acquisition system IWORX model 228S and MRBP rat tail-cuff method blood pressure system by IITC Life Science, USA.
Biochemical estimations
After 24 h of final subcutaneous injection of ISO, blood was collected by retro-orbital puncture under ether anesthesia and allowed to clot for 30 min at room temperature. The serum was separated by centrifugation at 2500 revolutions per minutes (rpm) at 30°C for 15 min and used for the estimation of marker enzymes, namely CK-MB, AST, LDH, ALT, and CPK. Animals were sacrificed and hearts were dissected out immediately, washed with ice-cold saline, and used to prepare 10% (w/v) homogenates in phosphate buffer (50 mM, pH 7.4). The homogenates were centrifuged at 7000 rpm for 10 min at 4°C and supernatants were used for the assays of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione (GSH).
Superoxide dismutase estimation
SOD was assayed by the method of Sun and Zigman in which the activity of SOD was inversely proportional to the concentration of its oxidation product adrenochrome, which was measured spectrophotometrically at 320 nm.[20]
Catalase estimation
CAT was estimated by the method of Clairborne, which is a quantitative spectroscopic method developed for following the breakdown of H2O2 at 240 nm in unit time for routine studies of CAT kinetics.[21]
Glutathione estimation
GSH was estimated in the heart homogenate using 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) by the method of Ellman. The absorbance was read at 412 nm and the results were expressed as μmol of GSH/g of wet tissue.[22]
Histological studies
At the end of the study, all the rats were sacrificed by cervical decapitation and the hearts were dissected out, washed in ice-cold saline. Then myocardial tissue was immediately fixed in 10% formalin solution. After fixation, tissues were embedded in paraffin and serial sections (4-5 μm thick) were taken and each section is then stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Then the slides were examined under light microscope for histoarchitectural changes.
Statistical analysis
All the experimental results were expressed as mean ± standard error of mean one-way analysis of variance followed by Tukey's test using GraphPad InStat, version 5.0 (GraphPad Software, 2365 Northside Dr. Suite 560 San Diego, California 92108, USA). The inter group difference was considered significant when P < 0.05.
| Results | | |
Effect of different dose combinations on electrocardiograph pattern and hemodynamic changes
The normal control group animals showed normal patterns of electrocardiograph, whereas the rats treated with ISO exhibited a marked reduction in R-amplitude along with a significant elevation of ST-segment, indicative of MI. Animals treated with drug combination of SETC 500 mg/kg + SEOS 50 mg/kg showed a significant (P < 0.001) decrease in ST-segment and a marked (P < 0.001) increase in the R-amplitude as compared to electrocardiographs obtained from ISO-alone-treated rats. Whereas, animals treated with SETC 500 mg/kg showed a significant (P < 0.01) decrease in ST-segment andsignificant (P < 0.01) increase in the R-amplitude. Further, animals treated with SETC 250 mg/kg + SEOS 50 mg/kg showed a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in ST-segment and significant (P < 0.05) increase in the R-amplitude when compared to the ISO control group [Table 1]. | Table 1: Effect of different dose combinations on electrocardiographic changes, mean arterial blood pressure, and heart rate in normal and isoproterenol-induced myocardial infarcted rats
Click here to view |
The mean arterial blood pressure was significantly (P < 0.001) decreased in the ISO-treated group to 50.17 mmHg compared to the normal control group. The mean arterial blood pressure was increased significantly in animals treated with SETC 500 mg/kg + SEOS 50 mg/kg (P < 0.001). Whereas, animals treated with SETC 250 mg/kg + SEOS 50 mg/kg and SETC 500 mg/kg showed a significant (P < 0.01) increase in mean arterial blood pressure compared to the ISO-treated group. Animals treated with SETC 250 mg/kg and SEOS 50 mg/kg showed a significant (P < 0.05) increase in mean arterial blood pressure. Further, a significant (P < 0.001) increase in heart rate was observed in the ISO-treated control group compared to the normal control group. Animals treated with drug combination of SETC 500 mg/kg + SEOS 50 mg/kg showed a significant (P < 0.001) decrease in heart rate compared to the ISO-treated control group [Table 1].
The effects of different dose combinations on cardiac biomarker enzymes such as CK-MB, CPK, LDH, AST, and ALT are shown in [Table 2]. Levels of these enzymes were significantly (P < 0.001) increased in the animals treated with ISO compared to the normal control group. Pretreatment with dose combination SETC 500 mg/kg + SEOS 50 mg/kg reduced significantly (P < 0.001) the activities of CK-MB, CPK, LDH, AST, and ALT. The administration of SETC 250 mg/kg + SEOS 50 mg/kg combination and SETC 500 mg/kg alone also showed a significant (P < 0.01) reduction in activities of CK-MB, CPK, LDH, AST and ALT when compared to the ISO control group. | Table 2: Effect of different dose combinations on cardiac biomarker enzymes
Click here to view |
The effect of different extract combinations on antioxidant parameters such as SOD, CAT, and GSH are depicted in [Table 3]. ISO-alone-treated animals had shown a significant (P < 0.001) reduction in the antioxidants compared to normal control animals. Pretreatment with SETC 500 mg/kg + SEOS 50 mg/kg had significantly (P < 0.001) restored the antioxidants. Whereas, animals treated with SETC 250 mg/kg + SEOS 50 mg/kg combination and SETC 500 mg/kg alone showed a significant (P < 0.01) increase in antioxidants. While animals treated with SETC 250 mg/kg and SEOS 50 mg/kg showed a significant (P < 0.05) increase in antioxidants when compared to the ISO control group. | Table 3: Effect of different dose combinations on antioxidant parameters
Click here to view |
Histopathological examination
The histopathological results of heart tissue are shown in [Figure 1]. The normal control [Figure 1]a group revealed normal cardiac fiber arranged uniformly with clear striations and no apparent degeneration or necrosis. ISO alone [Figure 1]b showed widespread, hypertrophy, subendocardial necrosis and abundant fibroblastic hyperplasia along with elevated edematous intramuscular gap. | Figure 1: Photomicrographs of sections of heart. (a) Normal control group, (b) isoproterenol control group, (c) standardized extracts of Tinospora cordifolia 250 mg/kg, (d) standardized extracts of Tinospora cordifolia 500 mg/kg, (e) standardized extracts of Ocimum sanctum 50 mg/kg, (f) standardized extracts of Tinospora cordifolia 250 mg/kg + standardized extracts of Ocimum sanctum 50 mg/kg, (g) standardized extracts of Tinospora cordifolia 500 mg/kg + standardized extracts of Ocimum sanctum 50 mg/kg
Click here to view |
Animals treated with SETC 250 mg/kg, SETC 500 mg/kg, SEOS 50 mg/kg, and SETC 250 mg/kg + SEOS 50 mg/kg showed mild multifocal myocytenecrosis with mild diffuse lymphocytic infiltration along the endocardium [Figure 1]c,[Figure 1]d,[Figure 1]e,[Figure 1]f. Whereas, animals treated with SETC 500 mg/kg + SEOS 50 mg/kg [Figure 1]g combination showed significant protection against ISO-induced myocardial damage.
| Discussion | | |
ISO, a potent synthetic catecholamine when administered to the animals in high doses, produces “infarct-like” lesions in the heart, which are similar to those found in acute MI and sudden death in man.[23] The pathogenesis of MI has not yet been understood fully, but several studies are carried out on ISO-induced cardiotoxicity. It was observed that 85 mg/kg dose of ISO significantly altered various biochemical parameters in rats.[19] Therefore, the cardioprotective activity of different drug combinations was evaluated against this dose.
The electrocardiograph is considered the most important clinical test for diagnosis of MI. The ST-segment elevation reflects the potential difference in the boundary between ischemic and nonischemic zones and the consequent loss of cell membrane function, whereas the decreased R-amplitude might be due to the onset of myocardial edema following ISO administration.[24] Significant protective effect is seen in the drug combination SETC 500 mg/kg + SEOS 50 mg/kg, which showed improvement in the electrocardiograph pattern. Similarly, the mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate were significantly normalized by the treatment with SETC 500 mg/kg + SEOS 50 mg/kg drug combination. Whereas, the mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate were increased in the ISO-treated animals.
Myocardial cells contain an abundant amount of diagnostic biomarker enzymes of MI and once metabolically damaged, it releases its contents into the extracellular fluid.[25] Hence after the treatment with ISO, animals showed increased activities of CK-MB, CPK, LDH, AST, and ALT which indicates MI. Oral treatment with SETC 500 mg/kg + SEOS 50 mg/kg attenuates raised activities of CK-MB, CPK, LDH, AST, and ALT in serum indicates cardioprotective effect.
Reduced GSH is one of the most abundant nonenzymatic antioxidant biomolecules present in the body. Together with CAT and SOD, it efficiently scavenges free radical species such as hydrogen peroxide, superoxide anions, and alkoxy radicals.[26] In ISO-treated animals, there was a marked increase in levels of SOD, CAT, and GSH which are mutually supportive systems of the first-line cellular defense against oxidative injury, decomposing oxygen and hydrogen peroxide before their interaction to form the more harmful hydroxyl (OH*) radical.[27] Pretreatment with SETC 500 mg/kg + SEOS 50 mg/kg combination that significantly restored the levels of SOD, CAT, and GSH shows the antioxidant property. Due to the oxidative stress, the concentration of free radical is increased in the animals administered with ISO, which in turn causes necrosis, fibroblastic hyperplasia andhypertrophy, etc., in the myocardial cells, but SETC 500 mg/kg + SEOS 50 mg/kg combination significantly protected myocardial cells.
| Conclusion | | |
From the present study, it may be concluded that the herb–herb combination of standardized extract of Tinospora cordifolia 500 mg/kg and standardized extract of Ocimum sanctum 50 mg/kg has shown increased cardioprotective activity than they were used alone. However, further mechanism studies need to be performed for better understanding.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
| References | | |
| 1. | Upaganlawar A, Gandhi H, Balaraman R. Isoproterenol induced myocardial infarction: Protective role of natural products. J Pharmacol Toxicol 2011;6:1-17.  |
| 2. | Abubaker S, Shanmukha I, Jyoti T, Gupt K. Cardioprotective effect of Spathodea campanulata bark on isoproterenol-induced myocardial infarction in rats. Asian Pac J Trop Dis 2012;2:S1-5. |
| 3. | Sikarwar MS, Patil MB. Antihyperlipidemic activity of Salacia chinensis root extracts in triton-induced and atherogenic diet-induced hyperlipidemic rats. Indian J Pharmacol 2012;44:88-92. [ PUBMED] [Full text] |
| 4. | Milei J, Nunez RG, Rapaport M. Pathogenesis of isoproterenol induced myocardial lesions its relation to human coagulate myocytolysis. Cardiol 1978;63:139-51. |
| 5. | Dhar ML, Dhar MM, Dhawan BN, Mehrotra BN, Ray C. Screening of Indian plants for biological activity: I.Indian J Exp Biol 1968;6:232-47. |
| 6. | Brazier NC, Levine MA. Drug-herb interaction among commonly used conventional medicines: A compendium for health care professionals. Am J Ther 2003;10:163-9. |
| 7. | Kuhn MA.Herbal remedies: Drug-herb interactions. Crit Care Nurse 2002;22:22-8, 30, 32. |
| 8. | Sharma PV. Dravya Guna Vigyan. Vol. 2. Varanasi: Chowkhmbha Vidya Bhavan; 1969. p. 680. |
| 9. | Rao PR, Kumar VK, Viswanath RK, Subbaraju GV. Cardioprotective activity of alcoholic extract of Tinospora cordifolia in ischemia-reperfusion induced myocardial infarction in rats. Biol Pharm Bull 2005;28:2319-22. |
| 10. | Sharma AK, Kishore K, Sharma D, Srinivasan BP, Agarwal SS, Sharma A, et al. Cardioprotective activity of alcoholic extract of Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Miers in calcium chloride-induced cardiac arrhythmia in rats. J Biomed Res 2011;25:280-6. |
| 11. | Priya LB, Baskaran R, Elangovan P, Dhivya V, Huang CY, Padma VV. Tinospora cordifolia extract attenuates cadmium-induced biochemical and histological alterations in the heart of male Wistar rats. Biomed Pharmacother 2017;87:280-7. |
| 12. | Jagetia GC, Reddy TK, Malagi KJ, Nayak BS, Naidu MB, Ravikiran PB, et al. Antarth, a polyherbal preparation protects against the doxorubicin-induced toxicity without compromising its antineoplastic activity. Phytother Res 2005;19:772-8. |
| 13. | Behera S, Babu SM, Ramani YR, Choudhury PK, Panigrahi R. Cardioprotective activity of Ocimum canum hydro-alcoholic leaf extracts against isoproterenol induced myocardial infarction in rats. Res J Pharmacol Pharmacodyn 2012;4:191-201. |
| 14. | Sharma M, Kishore K, Gupta SK, Joshi S, Arya DS. Cardioprotective potential of Ocimum sanctum in isoproterenol induced myocardial infarction in rats. Mol Cell Biochem 2001;225:75-83. |
| 15. | Kavitha S, Febi J, Indira M. Protective effects of methanolic extract of Ocimum sanctum leaves on mitochondrial dysfunction and damage induced by isoproterenol in hearts of male rats. Toxicol Environ Chem 2016;98:279-89. |
| 16. | Dwivedi V. Bhav Prakash Nighantu. 9 th ed. Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass; 2007. p. 296. |
| 17. | Mohanty I, Arya DS, Gupta SK. Effect of Curcuma longa and Ocimum sanctum on myocardial apoptosis in experimentally induced myocardial ischemic-reperfusion injury. BMC Complement Altern Med 2006;6:3. |
| 18. | Sethi J, Sood S, Seth S, Talwar A. Protective effect of Tulsi ( Ocimum Sanctum) on lipid peroxidation in stress induced by anemic hypoxia in rabbits. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2003;47:115-9. |
| 19. | Panda VS, Naik SR. Evaluation of cardioprotective activity of Ginkgo biloba and Ocimum sanctum in rodents. Altern Med Rev 2009;14:161. |
| 20. | Sun M, Zigman S. An improved spectrophotometric assay for superoxide dismutase based on epinephrine auto-oxidation. Anal Biochem 1978;90:81-9. |
| 21. | Clairborne A. Catalase Activity. In: Greenwald RA, editor. CRS Handbook of Methods in Oxygen Radical Research. Boca Raton, FL: CRS Press; 1991. p. 283-4. |
| 22. | Ellman GL.Tissue sulfhydryl groups. Arch Biochem Biophys 1959;82:70-7. |
| 23. | Baroldi G. Letter: Myocardial necrosis: The need for definition. J Mol Cell Cardiol 1974;6:401-2. |
| 24. | Piper RD, LiF Y, Myers ML, Sibbald WJ. Effects of isoproterenol on myocardial structure and function in septic rats. J Appl Physiol (1985) 1999;86:993-1001. |
| 25. | Suchalatha S, Shyamala Devi CS. Protective effect of Terminalia chebula against experimental myocardial injury induced by isoproterenol. Indian J Exp Biol 2004;42:174-8. |
| 26. | Meister A. New aspects of glutathione biochemistry and transport selective alterations of glutathione metabolism. Nutr Rev 1984;42:397-400. |
| 27. | JiL L, Stratman FW, Lardy HA. Antioxidant enzyme systems in rat liver and skeletal muscle. Influences of selenium deficiency, chronic training, and acute exercise. Arch Biochem Biophys 1988;263:150-60. |
[Figure 1]
[Table 1], [Table 2], [Table 3]
|
