Study of protective effect of ursolic acid on myocardial injury of type 2 diabetic rats

ObjectiveTo observe the effects of ursolic acid on cardiomyopathy of type 2 diabetic rats.

MethodsThe SD rat model with type 2 diabetes mellitus was randomly divided into the control group, model group, low dose of ursolic acid group, middle dose of ursolic acid group, high dose of ursolic acid group and metformin group.Each group was treated with intragastric administration using corresponding drugs, and the mental state, diet quantity and urine volume of SD rat in each group were observed during administration.The blood of abdominal aorta was collected after final administration and anesthesia, the heart was harvested and weighed, and the heart weight index was calculated.The activities of creatine kinase(CK) and creatine kinase isoenzyme(CK-MB)were determined by automatic biochemical analyzer.The serum levels of AGEs, TNF-α, SOD and MDA in myocardium tissue were detected using ELISA.The heart tissue was embedded in paraffin, stained using HE, and the change of issue morphology was observed under the light microscope.

ResultsThe activity of serum CK in high dose of ursolic acid group was lower than that in control group(P < 0.05).The high dose of ursolic acid could decrease the levels of TNF-α, MDA and AGEs, and increase the level of SOD in serum and heart tissues in type 2 diabetic rats, the effect of which was similar to that of metformin, and the difference of the effect between high dose of ursolic acid and metformin was not statistically significant(P>0.05).

ConclusionsUrsolic acid has protective effect on myocardial injury in rats with type 2 diabetes mellitus, and the mechanism of which may be related to reduce the levels of AGEs and TNF-α, and improve the oxidative stress of rats.