Cardioprotective role of wedelolactone in restraint stress-triggered myocardial damage and cardiac arrhythmias in Wistar rats

作者：Dong JP, Xiao HG · 发表于：Journal of physiology and pharmacology : an official journal of the Polish Physiological Society · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.26402/jpp.2026.3.02 · 研究领域：Coumarins、Cardiotonic Agents、Arrhythmias, Cardiac、Stress, Psychological、Animals、Male、Rats, Wistar、Restraint, Physical、NF-E2-Related Factor 2、Rats、Oxidative Stress、Myocardium

Restraint stress is a well-established model for inducing psychological and physiological stress that triggers oxidative damage, inflammation, and apoptosis in cardiac tissue. Wedelolactone, a bioactive coumestan derived from Eclipta alba, possesses known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, but its cardioprotective effects under restraint stress have not been well elucidated. The present study aimed to evaluate the cardioprotective potential of Wedelolactone against restraint stress-induced myocardial injury through biochemical, molecular, and histopathological assessments. Male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: Control, Restraint Stress (RS), RS + wedelolactone (10 mg/kg, orally), and wedelolactone-alone. Electrocardiographic parameters, serum cardiac biomarkers (creatine kinase MB (CK-MB), lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase, cardiac troponin I), oxidative stress markers (malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, reduced glutathione), inflammatory mediators (tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, nuclear factor-κB), and apoptotic gene expression (Bax, Bcl-2, caspase-3 and caspase-9) were analyzed. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) pathway activation was evaluated by western blot, and myocardial histology was assessed using hematoxylin and eosin staining. Restraint stress caused significant increases in oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptotic ge...