Myocardial protective effect of Sheng Mai San (SMS) and a lignan-enriched extract of Fructus Schisandrae, in vivo and ex vivo.

Effects of Sheng Mai San (SMS), a traditional Chinese medicine used for the treatment of coronary heart disease, and the lignan-enriched extract of Fructus Schisandrae (FS), an antioxidant component of SMS, were examined in an in vivo model of myocardial infarction and an ex vivo model of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats. Pretreatment with SMS (12 g/kg/day × 3, p. o.) or FS extract (0.8 g/kg/day × 3, p. o.) was found to protect against the isoproterenol-induced myocardial injury in rats and the ischemia-reperfusion injury in isolated perfused hearts prepared from the pretreated animals. Pretreatment with α-tocopherol (0.8 g/kg/day × 3, p. o.) produced similar beneficial effect on the myocardium. The myocardial protection afforded by SMS pretreatment is likely, at least in part, mediated by the FS-derived antioxidant activity.