Therapeutic effects of Dioscorea on post-menopause-induced cardiac apoptosis in rats

Objective: To evaluate the effects of Dioscorea on bilateral ovariectomies-induced cardiac Fasdependent and mitochondria-dependent apoptotic pathways. Methods: Forty-eight female Wistar rats at 6–7 months of age were equally divided into a sham-operated group, and a bilateral ovariectomized (OVX) group for 2 months, and the rats in the OVX group were further fed with 0, 250 or 750 mL/kg Dioscorea spp. daily in the 2nd month. The excised hearts were measured by positive terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase UTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assays, western blotting and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Results: Dioscorea spp. decreased OVX-induced cardiac TUNEL-positive apoptotic cells; decreased OVX-induced TNF-alpha, Fas ligand, Fas death receptors, Fas-associated death domain, activated caspase-8, and -3 (Fas pathways); decreased OVX-induced Bad, Bax, Bax-to-Bcl2 ratio, activated caspase-9, and -3 (mitochondria pathway). Conclusions: Dioscorea spp. prevented ovariectomy-induced cardiac Fas-dependent and mitochondriadependent apoptotic pathways in rat models. The fifi ndings may provide possible therapeutic effects of dioscorea for potentially preventing cardiac apoptosis after ovariectomy or post-menopause.