Effects of steroidal saponins extract from Ophiopogon japonicus root ameliorates doxorubicin-induced chronic heart failure by inhibiting oxidative stress and inflammatory response

Abstract Context: Ophiopogonis Radix, the root of Ophiopogon japonicus (Thunb.) Ker-Gawl (Liliaceae), is a Traditional Chinese Medicine, which has been investigated to possess effective treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Objective: This study evaluates the cardioprotective effects of steroidal saponins extract from Ophiopogon japonicus (SOJ) root against doxorubicin-induced chronic heart failure (CHF) through the amelioration of oxidative stress and inflammation. Materials and methods: A Sprague-Dawley rat model of CHF was established by intraperitoneally injected with DOX. All rats were randomly divided into four groups: Control group, CHF group, CHF？+？SOJ (100？mg/kg) treatment group, SOJ (100？mg/kg) treatment group (n？=？8/group). After six weeks administration, biometric and echocardiography were measured. The levels of biochemical parameters were measured using commercial kits. Results: The values of LVESP, +dP/dtmax, –dP/dtmax, EF and FS increased to 116.20？±？1.68？mmHg, 2978.71？±？168.26？mmHg/s, 3452.61？±？286.09？mmHg/s, 68.26？±？5.28% and 31.97？±？3.79%, respectively; the values of LVEDP, LVESD and LVEDD decreased to 8.85？±？0.84？mmHg, 8.39？±？0.45？mm and 12.36？±？0.87？mm in CHF？+？SOJ group. In addition, the levels of IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1β decreased to 154.41？±？7.72？pg/mg protein, 110.02？±？6.96？pg/mg protein and 39.39？±？5.27？pg/mg protein, respectively; the relative activity of p38 MAPK decreased to 2.60？±？0.40 in CHF？+？SOJ group. Furthermore, the activities of SOD, CAT and GSH-Px increased to 268.77？±？6.20？U/mg protein, 13.68？±？0.68？U/mg protein and 316.90？±？8.08 μmol/mg protein, and the content of MDA decreased to 4.03？±？0.43？nmol/mg protein in CHF？+？SOJ group. Conclusions: SOJ exerts the cardioprotective effect against DOX-induced CHF through suppressing inflammatory and oxidative stress. These results provide evidence that SOJ might be an effective treatment for CHF