Protective effect of the combinations of glycyrrhizic, ferulic and cinnamic acid pretreatment on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats

The aim of this study was to find an effective drug cocktail pretreatment to protect myocardial tissue of the heart from ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. The mechanisms underlying the effects of the drug cocktail were subsequently explored in order to expand the application of Dang-gui-si-ni-tang (DGSN), a Traditional Chinese Medicine. The active components of DGSN in the serum following oral administration were investigated using high-performance liquid chromatography. The activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were then analyzed to show the effect of the active components in the treatment of myocardial I/R injury. An L16 (4(4)) orthogonal experiment was utilized to determine the most effective cocktail mix and the mechanism underlying the effect of this mix on myocardial I/R injury was investigated. It was observed that FCG, a mixture of glycyrrhizic (50 mg/kg), cinnamic (200 mg/kg) and ferulic (300 mg/kg) acid, was the optimal drug cocktail present in DGSN. This was absorbed into the blood following oral administration and was shown to decrease MDA levels and increase the activity of SOD. In conclusion, the findings suggest that FCG, a combination of active ingredients in the DGSN decoction, can be absorbed into the blood and protect the myocardium from I/R injury.