Berbamine (BBM), a bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid from roots, bark, and stem of Berberis plant such as Berberis aristata has a wide range of pharmacological activities. However, the evidence for the cardioprotective effect of BBM is inadequate and the molecular mechanism of BBM remains unclear. The current study investigated the cardioprotective effect of berbamine (BBM) on isoproterenol (ISO) induced changes in cardiac marker enzymes, myocardial oxidative stress, lipid profile and expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in male Wistar rats. Further, the underlying molecular mechanism of BBM‐mediated cardioprotection on isoproterenol (ISO)‐induced mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis in rats has been elucidated. In the present study, the histopathological findings of the hearttissue showed that BBM treatment significantly minimized the damage induced by ISO. BBM pretreatment showed a significant decrease in heart weight, serum marker enzymes, lipid peroxidation and significant increase in cardiac endogenous enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants compared to the ISO-treated group. In addition, we observed significantly upregulated eNOS expression and downregulated iNOS expression in BBM pretreated group. The ISO‐induced elevation of mitochondrial oxidative stress was also curbed by BBM. Furthermore, pretreatment with BBM protected the heart tissue from ISO‐induced apoptosis in rats. These current findings suggest that BBM exerts a significant cardioprotective effect on ISO‐induced myocardial infarction in rats.

Dr. V.Vijaya Padma received her Ph.D from University of Madras, India for the work on “Biochemical studies on the effect of fish oil in isoproterenol induced myocardial infarction”. She worked as a Lecturer in Kongu Nadu Arts and Science College, Coimbatore for three years. She joined the Department of Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Bharathiar University, as a Lecturer in April 2005. Currently, she is the Professor & Head of the Department of Biotechnology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, India. She established Translational Research laboratory apart from teaching the Post Graduate students. Now her research group is involved in testing various phytochemicals as cytoprotective agents against toxins - mycotoxins, pesticides, dioxin and also to evaluate their anticarcinogenic, antimutagenic and anti-inflammatory properties. They are also involved in understanding the role of mitochondria in yoga mediated anti aging She has published about 164 research articles in both national and international peer reviewed journals. (inclu. Nature, Springer, Wiley, Elsevier etc etc..)