Shenfu injection (the major components of which are
ginsenosides compound, extract of Panax ginseng shown to have
antioxidant properties) is a well-known important
Chinese traditional medicine used for the treatment of various diseases especial for
cardiac diseases. The precise mechanism of the
biological actions of this plant is not fully understood, in order to elucidate the protection of cardiomyocytes. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of
Shenfu injection on
hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-induced apoptosis and the expression of bcl-2 and
caspase-3 in cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes in vitro. Ventricular myocytes were isolated from neonatal rat hearts and were exposed to 4 h of
hypoxia followed by 16 h of reoxygenation. The results indicated that treatment with different doses of
Shenfu injection protected cardiacmyocyte cultures from
hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced apoptosis.
Caspase-3 activation was decreased in hypoxic/reoxygenationed cardiomyocytes co-treated with
Shenfu injection when compared to
hypoxia/reoxygenation alone treated cultures. Expression of the Bcl-2
proteins was increased in
Shenfu injection-treated cardiomyocytes subjected to
hypoxia/reoxygenation. In conclusion,
ginsenosides compound has obviously protective effects on cardiacmyocytes against apoptosis induced by
hypoxia/reoxygenation injury, whose mechanisms probably involve the inhibition of down-regulation of Bcl-2
protein levels and sequential activation of
caspase-3.