Abstract:
Herein, we investigated the effects of B. diffusa (BDE), a well-known cardiotonic edible medicinal plant against
apoptosis in Angiotensin II (Ang II)-stimulated hypertrophic cardiac cells (H9c2). The cells were analyzed for
viability, markers of hypertrophy, apoptosis, and the expression of various proteins related to apoptosis. Ang II
(100 nM for 48 h)-exposed H9c2 cells treated with BDE (75 μg/ml) showed a significant reduction in apoptosis
(58.60%↓) compared to Ang II-alone treated cells. BDE treatment significantly reduced the up-regulation of Bax
and cytosolic cytochrome-C caused by Ang II as well as reduced the degree of Ang II- induced down-regulation of
Bcl-2. A reduction in caspase-3 activity (33.77%↓) and down-regulation of TNF-α was also observed in BDE
treated cells stimulated with Ang II. Furthermore, the up-regulation of phospho-p38 MAPK was attenuated by
BDE treatment. Bioactive components in the extract were identified as boeravinone B, quercetin, kaempferol,
and caffeic acid as evident from high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Overall, our study shows that B. diffusa is effective in attenuating apoptosis in cardiac cells, which is a major contributor to sudden cardiac death in addition to its nutraceutical properties.
