Effect of the ethanolic extract of pequi (Caryocar brasiliense) peel on acute cardiotoxicity induced by doxorubicin in Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus albinus)

Abstract

This study evaluated the activity of the ethanolic extract of pequi peel (EEPP) and immunostaining with matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9 (MMP2 and MMP9), and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 1 and 2 (TIMP1 and TIMP2) in the myocardium of rats subjected to acute cardiotoxicity using doxorubicin (DOX). Thirty Wistar rats (six groups of five animals) were used as follows: sham group (SG), water and saline; group G1, 16 mg/kg of DOX and 300 mg/kg of EEPP for 17 days; group G2, 16 mg/kg of DOX and 600 mg/kg of EEPP for 17 days; group G3, 16 mg/kg of DOX and 300 mg/kg of EEPP for 10 days; group G4, 16 mg/kg of DOX and 600 mg/kg of EEPP for 10 days; and control group (CG), 16 mg/kg of DOX. Three days after administering DOX (day 17), euthanasia was performed, and samples were collected for anatomopathological analysis. Myocyte vacuolar degeneration, cardiomyocyte disorganization and myofibrillar fragmentation, necrosis, mononuclear inflammatory infiltrate, Anitschkow cells, fibrosis, congestion, and edema were observed in the hearts of DOX recipients. In G1 and G2, EEPP attenuated myocyte vacuolar degeneration whereas in G4, EEPP attenuated cardiomyocyte disorganization. The percentage of cells immunoreactive for TIMP1 was higher in G1. It was concluded that EEPP minimizes the deleterious effects of DOX on rat myocardium. Doses of 300 and 600 mg/kg for 17 days attenuate the vacuolar degeneration of myocytes. The dose of 600 mg/kg for 10 days reduced cardiomyocyte disorganization, and the dose of 300 mg/kg for 17 days increased TIMP1 expression in the myocardium of DOX-treated rats.