Thymoquinone Protects the Heart Against isoprenaline-induced Myocardial Ischemia in mice: A Histopathological Study

Abstract

Background: Thymoquinone (TQ) is the most bioactive volatile oil that extracted from Nigella sativa seeds. It protects the tissue against ischemia-reperfusion injury including skeletal muscle, kidney, testes, liver and brainObjectives: This study aimed to investigate the cardio-protective effect against isoprenaline-induced myocardial cell necrosis in miceMaterials and methods: Thirty six female albino mice were sub-grouped into six groups, each of six animals to receive intraperitoneal injection of dimethylsufoxide (5%W/v), TQ (10 mg/kg) or isoprenaline (30 mg/kg) as the following: Group I: dimethylsulfoxide, Group II: TQ , Group III: isoprenaline, Group IV: TQ twenty four hours prior to the treatment with isoprenaline, Group V:concomitant injections of isoprenaline and TQ and Group VI: treated with isoprenaline twenty four hours before treatment with TQ. After twenty four hours of treatment, the animals were sacrificed by cervical decapitation, the heart is rapidly removed and the left ventricle fixed in formalin solution (10%) for histopathological processing. Results: Isoprenaline induced inflammatory cells infiltration around the blood vessels and through the cardiac tissue with focal cardiac cell necrosis. Thymoquinone protects the heart against isoprenaline-induced changes. In Groups IV and V mild inflammatory cell infiltration were observed whereas in Group VI, the histopathological findings included normal cardiac cell texture, attenuation of inflammatory cells infiltration and limited focal necrosis.Conclusions: Thymoquinone protects the heart against isoprenaline-induced myocardial ischemia before or at the time and even after the cardiac insults that induced by isoprenaline suggesting that different mechanisms involved in cardio-protection