Carvacrol protects against acute myocardial infarction of rats via anti-oxidative and anti-apoptotic pathways.

Carvacrol (CAR), a naturally occurring phenolic monoterpene, has been shown to possess diverse biological activities. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the cardioprotective potential of CAR against myocardial ischemic damage in a rat model of acute myocardial infarction. CAR significantly diminished the infarct size and myocardial enzymes including creatine kinase (CK), the MB isoenzyme of creatine kinase (CK-MB), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and cardiac troponin T (cTnT). Reduced level of malondialdehyde (MDA), obviously elevated activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and non-enzymatic scavenger glutathione (GSH) as well as glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) were also found in CAR-treated groups. Treatment with CAR remarkably inhibited the protein expressions of caspase-3 and Bax, but increased the level of Bcl-2 protein in infarcted rats by Western blot analysis. The finding suggests that the cardioprotection of CAR associate with its anti-oxidative and anti-apoptotic properties in acute myocardial infarction of rats.