Cardioprotective effect ofLagenaria siceraria(Mol) ameliorates isoproterenol-induced cardiac toxicity in rats by stabilizing cardiac mitochondrial and lysosomal enzymes

The present study was designed to evaluate the cardioprotective potential of Lagenaria siceraria (Mol) fruit on isoproterenol (ISO) induced myocardial infarction (MI) in rat model. Treatment with ISO 85 mg kg−1 body weight subcutaneously for 2 days significantly decreased the activities of cardiac mitochondrial enzymes isocitrate dehydrogenase, succinate dehydrogenase, and malate dehydrogenase. The activities of lysosomal enzymes including acid phosphatase, cathepsin D, and β-D-N-acetyl glucosaminidase were increased significantly in heart and serum. Pretreatment with L. siceraria (Mol) fruits for 30 days significantly elevated activities of cardiac mitochondrial enzymes and significantly lowered the activities of lysosomal enzymes in heart tissues of ISO-induced rats, which demonstrates that L. siceraria (Mol) fruits inhibits the actions of ISO on rat cardiac tissue. Oral administration of EELSF ethanolic extract of L. siceraria (Mol) (125, 250, or 500 mg kg−1 body weight) to normal rats did not show any significant effects in all the parameters analyzed. Thus, this study shows that ethanolic extract of L. siceraria (Mol) fruit exerts a significant effect in the protection of heart against ISO-induced MI.