The effect of puerarin on serum nitric oxide concentration and myocardial eNOS expression in rats with myocardial infarction

Puerarin (1) is a major effective ingredient extracted from the traditional Chinese medicine Ge-gen (Radix Puerariae, RP). Recently, puerarin has been used to treat patients with coronary artery diseases (CAD). However, the mechanisms of puerarin on CAD are still not very clear. In this study, we investigated the role of puerarin on serum nitric oxide (NO) concentration, myocardial endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene expression, the protein expression of eNOS and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), as well as the level of protein kinase B (Akt/PKB) phosphorylation in rats with myocardial infarction. We found that puerarin (120 mg/kg/day, i.p.) could increase serum nitrite concentration in rat with myocardial ischemia (MI). It also induced the gene expression or activation of eNOS, protein expression of eNOS, and the Akt/PKB phosphorylation. From these results, we suggested that puerarin could increase serum nitric oxide level of rat with myocardial infarction, which should be one of the mechanisms of the therapeutic effect of puerarin on CAD. The increased expression of eNOS and the Akt/PKB pathway may be the underlying mechanism by which puerarin stimulates NO production.