Apocynin and its heart protective effect in rats from reperfusion injury

Objective To study the effect of apocynin,a NADPH oxidase inhibitor,on rat heart protection from reperfusion injury.Methods An in vivo rat heart ischemia reperfusion model was used,and the left anterior descending coronary artery was ligated for 30 min to develop ischemia and followed by 3 hours reperfusion.Apocynin of different doses were administrated 10 minutes before reperfusion to evaluate dose-dependent effect.Mice of the groups treated with the different doses of apocynin were assayed for cardiac function,infarct size,cardiomyocyte apoptosis,NADPH oxidase activity and reactive oxygen species production.Results After reperfusion,the expression and activity of heart NADPH oxidase increased significantly.Free radical production also increased accordingly.Apocynin decreased reperfusion induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis and free radical production.A dose of 10 mg/kg apocynin was able to provide protective effects.Apocynin improved cardiac function,reduced infract size and apoptosis,inhibited NADPH oxidase activity thus decreased superoxide anion and peroxynitrite production,while no effect on nitric oxide generation was confirmed.Conclusion NADPH oxidase played an important role in heart reperfusion,which could be inhibited by apocynin.Apocynin reduced NADPH oxidase dependent superoxide anion and peroxynitrite production and their injuries to provide heart protection.