Cardiac contractile dysfunction and apoptosis in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats are ameliorated by garlic oil supplementation.

Previous studies have suggested that garlic oil could protect the cardiovascular system. However, the mechanism by which garlic oil protects diabetes-induced cardiomyopathy is unclear. In this study, streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats received garlic oil (0, 10, 50, or 100 mg/kg of body weight) by gastric gavage every 2 days for 16 days. Normal rats without diabetes were used as control. Cardiac contractile dysfunction examined by echocardiography and apoptosis evaluated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) assay were observed in diabetic rat hearts. Additionally, a shift in cardiac myosin heavy chain (MHC) gene expression from α- to β-MHC isoform, decreased levels of superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD-1) and cardiac α-actin, and elevated cardiac thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and caspase- and p38-NFκB-leading apoptosis signaling activities were demonstrated in diabetic hearts. However, these diabetes-related cardiac dysfunctions were almost dose-dependently ameliorated by garlic oil administration. In conclusion, garlic oil possesses significant potential for protecting hearts from diabetes-induced cardiomyopathy.