Abstract
The present study investigated the merit of ginseng in the improvement of heart failure in diabetic rats and the role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors δ (PPAR δ ). We used streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat (STZ-rat) to screen the effects of ginseng on cardiac performance and PPAR δ expression. Changes of body weight, water intake, and food intake were compared in three groups of age-matched rats; the normal control (Wistar rats) received vehicle, STZ-rats received vehicle and ginseng-treated STZ-rats. We also determined cardiac performances in addition to blood glucose level in these animals. The protein levels of PPAR δ in hearts were identified using Western blotting analysis. In STZ-rats, cardiac performances were decreased but the food intake, water intake, and blood glucose were higher than the vehicle-treated control. After a 7-day treatment of ginseng in STZ-rats, cardiac output was markedly enhanced without changes in diabetic parameters. This treatment with ginseng also increased the PPAR δ expression in hearts of STZ-rats. The related signal of cardiac contractility, troponin I phosphorylation, was also raised. Ginseng-induced increasing of cardiac output was reversed by the cotreatment with PPAR δ antagonist GSK0660. Thus, we suggest that ginseng could improve heart failure through the increased PPAR δ expression in STZ-rats.