Antiarrhythmic effect of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) on myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats.
OBJECTIVE
The present study was designed to determine the antiarrhythmic effect of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), an active component of propolis, which exhibits antioxidant properties, in rats subjected to myocardial ischemia and ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury.


METHODS
Rats were subjected to 30 min coronary artery occlusion for evaluating the effect of CAPE on the myocardial ischemia injury. While in the myocardial I/R injury study, the coronary artery was ligated for a 5-min period of ischemia followed by a 30-min period of reperfusion. Animals were pretreated with or without CAPE before coronary artery ligation and the severity of myocardial ischemia- and I/R-induced arrhythmias and mortality were compared.


RESULTS
Pretreatment of CAPE (0.1 and 1 microg/kg) not only reduced both the incidence and duration of ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF) but also decreased the mortality during the myocardial ischemia and I/R injury period.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that CAPE is a potent antiarrhythmic agent with cardioprotective effects in myocardial ischemia and I/R injury rats.
Huang
Shiang-Suo
SS
Department of Pharmacology and Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
Liu
Sheng-Ming
SM
Lin
Su-Man
SM
Liao
Pei-Hu
PH
Lin
Ruey-Hseng
RH
Chen
Yu-Chia
YC
Chih
Chun-Lien
CL
Tsai
Shen-Kou
SK
D000818:Animals; D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002109:Caffeic Acids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D015428:Myocardial Reperfusion Injury / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010626:Phenylethyl Alcohol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000188:drug therapy; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000188:drug therapy
D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; D002109:Caffeic Acids; C055494:caffeic acid phenethyl ester; D010626:Phenylethyl Alcohol