Lactobacillus plantarum Enhanced the Cardioprotective Efficacy of Arctiin in Isoproterenol Cardiac Injury in BALB/c Mice

Isoproterenol is a drug used for the treatment of bradycardia that has many side effects due to its non-selective β-adrenoceptor agonist properties. In this study, we evaluated an in vivo experimental model for isoproterenol (ISO) cardiac injury using BALB/c mice and protective treatment with a combined optimized dose of Arctiin (AR) and Lactobacillus plantarum (LP) (ARLP; 30 mg/kg b.w. AR and viable 106 CFU/mL LP p.o.) together. Isoproterenol causes cardiac injury in many instances. Arctiin is a naturally occurring lignin glycoside present in many herbal medicinal plants that has many beneficial effects for humans. Lactobacillus plantarum is yet another beneficial probiotic that benefits largely to humans. Male BALB/c mice in appropriate groups (6 animals each) were treated with ARLP for 7 days with ISO administration (100 mg/kg i.p.) on days 5 and 6. On the 8th day, animals were sacrificed. Serum and heart samples were collected for further processing. CK-MB, cardiac troponin, AST, ALT, LDH, GST, GPx, CAT, SOD, GSH, GSSG, MDA, nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB), TNF-α, and IL-6 by ELISA and gene expressions of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) were estimated in samples. Mice administered with ISO showed a prominent rise in the serum marker enzyme activities and tissue oxidative stress markers (MDA and GSSG). Furthermore, marked reductions in body weight and enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant levels were noticed in ISO toxicity. Alterations in proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-6) and Nrf2 levels by RT-PCR were analyzed. Histopathology of the heart also indicated cardiac injury in ISO-intoxicated mice. ARLP pretreatment prevented all these cardiac injuries and exerted significant ( p ≤ 0.05) prophylactic protection toward cardiac tissue. Further, we analyzed the possible interactions between AR and LP in vitro, to understand the influence of ARonLP, which showed no significant suppressive/antibacterial activity on LP. In conclusion, ARLP exerts a strong cardioprotective and anti-inflammatory activity in cardiovascular injury.