Solid herbal extract of Primula veris L. improves morphofunctional condition of rats’ myocardium in chronic alcohol intoxication

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Chronic alcohol intoxication (CAI) induces heart damage. One of the promising ways of its treatment involves the administration of herbal medicinal products. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of solid herbal extract of Primula veris L. (PVSHE) on the morphofunctional changes in rats’ myocardium after CAI. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE: CAI was simulated for 24 weeks. Loading testing was used to assess the functional condition of the heart, the functional assessment of mitochondria was based on the polarographic determination of oxygen consumption rate and determination of the indices of lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes activity. We performed a microscopic examination of the left ventricle following the standard protocol of histological processing and h&e staining. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: PVSHE restricts the toxic effects of ethanol on the heart which was indicated by a higher rise in the rates of myocardial contraction (by an average of 3.9 times, P < 0.05) and relaxation (2.6 times under volume load, P < 0.05), LVP (by an average of 1.7 times, P < 0.05) and MISP (by an average of 1.5 times, P < 0.05). PVSHE caused an improvement in the functional state of rats’ cardiac mitochondria exposed to CAI, which was demonstrated by on average 1.3–1.4 times (P < 0.05) as high RCR as compared to the control group. The histological examination of the myocardium of the animals treated with PVSHE showed the increase in the volume fraction of cardiac myocytes, and a 31.2% (P < 0.05) decline in the interstitial volume. Therefore, PVSHE has a protective effect on the heart after CAI.