Abstract
Cardioplegic arrest during heart operations is often used in cardiac surgery. During cardioplegia, the heart is subjected to a global ischemia/reperfusion-injury. (−)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), one of the main ingredients of green tea, seems to be beneficial in various cardiac diseases. Therefore, the aim of our study was to evaluate EGCG in a rabbit model of cardioplegic arrest. Twenty four mature Chinchilla rabbits were examined. Rabbit hearts were isolated and perfused according to Langendorff. After induction of cardioplegia (without and with 20 µmol/L EGCG, n = 6 each) the hearts maintained arrested for 90-min. Thereafter, the hearts were re-perfused for 60 min. During the entire experiment hemodynamic and functional data were assessed. At the end of each experiment, left ventricular samples were processed for ATP measurements and for histological analysis. Directly after cessation of cardioplegia, all hearts showed the same decline in systolic and diastolic function. However, hearts of the EGCG-group showed a significantly faster and better hemodynamic recovery during reperfusion. In addition, tissue ATP-levels were significantly higher in the EGCG-treated hearts. Histological analysis revealed that markers of nitrosative and oxidative stress were significantly lower in the EGCG group. Thus, addition of EGCG significantly protected the cardiac muscle from ischemia/reperfusion injury.
Highlights
For thousands of years, tea has been one of the most popular beverages in Asian countries
We evaluated 24 rabbits with the following four experimental groups (n = 6 each): control, control + epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), cardioplegia, cardioplegia + EGCG
After 90 min cardioplegic arrest left ventricular developed systolic pressure (LVP), PRP pressure-rate product, dp/dt max and min were significantly impaired during the first 10 min of reperfusion compared to baseline levels (Figures 1 and 2)
Summary
Tea has been one of the most popular beverages in Asian countries. Green tea contains considerable amounts of phytochemicals such as flavonoids and polyphenols of which the catechins, and more precisely (−)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), are among the main ingredients [2]. It has been proposed that regular consumption of green tea is associated with a lower risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases [3]. Several studies in humans have been published, describing a reduced mortality and less arrhythmia after myocardial infarction in patients who are habitual tea drinkers [4,5]. Other studies revealed comparable results: the risk of dying due to cardiovascular events was lower in the patient group with regular intake of flavonoids (green tea or other sources) [6,7,8]. The cardioprotective effects of EGCG in these models of cardiac ischemia encouraged us to test whether EGCG may exert cardioprotective effects when added to a cardioplegic solution during a 90-min cardiac arrest
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