Preventive effects of vanillic acid on lipids, bax, bcl-2 and myocardial infarct size on isoproterenol-induced myocardial infarcted rats: a biochemical and in vitro study.

We made an attempt to evaluate the preventive effects of vanillic acid on isoproterenol-induced myocardial infarcted rats. Rats were pretreated with vanillic acid (5 and 10 mg/kg) daily for 10 days. After pretreatment, rats were injected with isoproterenol (100 mg/kg) at an interval of 24 h for 2 days to induce myocardial infarction. Isoproterenol induction increased the activity of serum creatine kinase-MB and increased the levels of serum and heart cholesterol, triglycerides, free fatty acids in rats. It increased the levels of serum low density and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol and decreased the levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Also, the activity of 3-hydroxy-3methyl glutaryl-coenzyme-A-reductase in the plasma and liver was increased, and lecithin cholesterol acyl transferase activity in the plasma and liver was decreased in isoproterenol-induced rats. Furthermore, isoproterenol-induced rats showed a decrease in myocardial expression of B-cell leukemia/lymphoma-2(bcl-2) gene and an increase in myocardial expression of bcl-2 associated-x (bax)-gene. Vanillic acid pretreated isoproterenol-induced rats positively altered all the above-mentioned biochemical parameters. Vanillic acid pretreatment also reduced myocardial infarct size in myocardial infarcted rats. In vitro study confirmed the potent free radical scavenging effect of vanillic acid. The observed effects are due to free radical scavenging effects of vanillic acid. This study may have a significant impact on myocardial infarcted patients.