Context: Ginger [Zingiber officinale Roscoe. (Zingiberaceae)] has been universally used as a spice as well as for its health benefits.
Objective: The present study evaluates the protective effect of the standardized extract of ginger against isoproterenol (ISO)-induced myocardial infarction (MI) in rats.
Materials and methods: Wistar rats were pretreated orally with three doses of standardized ginger extract (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg of body weight) or propranolol (5 mg/mL) for 28 d prior to ISO (85 mg/kg) induced MI in two doses on days 29 and 30. The rats were sacrificed 48 h after the first induction; serum and hearts were collected for biochemical and histopathological analysis.
Results: Gingerols and shogaols were identified and quantitatively analyzed in the extracts using validated reversed phase HPLC methods. Pretreatment with ginger extract at 400 mg/kg showed a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in all the cardiac enzyme activities, i.e., cardiac troponin I (cTnI) (0.57 ng/mL), creatine kinase MB isoenzyme (CK-MB) (10.34 pg/mL), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (115.22 U/L), alanine transaminase (ALT) (15.79 U/L), and aspartate transaminase (AST) (46.72 U/L) when compared with ISO-control rats. There were significant rises (p < 0.05) in the activity of glutathione peroxide (GPx) (53.16 U/L), catalase (CAT) (210.41 U/L), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) (280.89 U/mL) of the pretreated rats when compared with the ISO-control. Histopathological examination showed an improvement in membrane cell integrity in pretreated rats compared with untreated rats.
Conclusion: The ethanol extract of ginger exhibited cardioprotective potential in treating myocardial injury following ISO administration.
Keywords: Cardioprotective effect; gingerols; myocardial infarction; oxidative stress; serum marker enzymes; shogaols.