Evaluation of cardioprotective potential of isolated swerchirin against the isoproterenol-induced cardiotoxicity in wistar albino rats

Background: Cardiotoxicity is one of the emerging health-care issues worldwide and mortality due to this is increasing exponentially. Oxidative stress, myocardial inflammation, and damage to the cardiac membrane are major causative attributes for this toxicity. Isoproterenol (ISO)-induced cardiotoxicity is a well-established and accepted model to estimate innovative cardioprotective agents, as it exhibits several morphological and biochemical aberrations in the myocardium of rat that is comparable with those detected in clinical practice. Objectives: In the present study, we explored the cardioprotective effect of swerchirin (SW) extracted from Swertia chirayita in the ISO model. Materials and Methods: SW was isolated from S. chirayita, characterized by high-performance thin-layer chromatography-mass spectrometry, ¹H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), ¹³C-NMR, and high-performance liquid chromatography techniques. The in-vitro study was performed for 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and nitric oxide scavenging activity to explore the antioxidant capacity. In silico study was performed to ascertain the binding affinity of SW with antioxidant enzymes. The in-vivo study was performed to explore the cardioprotective activity in the ISO-induced cardiotoxic model. Results: The in vitro studies showed the significant antioxidant potential of SW whereas the in silico study revealed its effective binding into the catalytic pocket domain of superoxide dismutase and catalase. The in vivo study showed a significant improvement in antioxidant enzymes and a reduction in serum glutamic-oxaloacetate transaminase and lipid profile. Further, SW also significantly reversed the histopathological aberrations in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion: Findings of the study showed a significant cardioprotective effect of SW against ISO-induced cardiac damage.