The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of
resveratrol, a
polyphenol present in grapes and red wine, on
ventricular remodeling after
myocardial infarction (MI) in rats. After permanent
ligation of the left anterior descending artery, surviving rats were randomly allocated to three groups and treated with 1 mg/kg/day
resveratrol (R-1 group), 0.1 mg/kg/day
resveratrol (R-0.1 group), or vehicles (control group) administered by
intraperitoneal injection once daily for four weeks. We examined the effects of
resveratrol by echocardiography, hemodynamic studies, histologic examinations, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The R-1 group had significantly increased fractional shortening of the left ventricle, ameliorated left ventricular dilatation, reduced left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, and reduced
infarct size. In contrast, the R-0.1 group experienced no beneficial effects on
myocardial infarction. The R-1 group also had significantly attenuated expression of myocardial
atrial natriuretic peptide and
transforming growth factor-beta1 mRNAs. This study indicates that
resveratrol is a potent
cardioprotective agent in MI rats. Its cardioprotective effects may be due to a reduction of
atrial natriuretic peptide and
transforming growth factor-beta1, which are known to protect the heart from detrimental remodeling.