Paeoniflorin reduced the cardiotoxicity of aconitine in h9c2 cells.

Aconitine (ACO), the main active component in Aconitum carmichaelii Debeaux (family: Ranunculaceae), has high cardiotoxicity, however the mechanisms of this effect remain unclear. Paeoniflorin (PF), the main chemical ingredient in herbaceous peony, can protect the heart from damage through antioxidant, vasodilatory and other effects. In this study, we focused on the mechanism by which PF reduces ACO cardiotoxicity. We selected H9c2 cells as the experimental model. MTT assay, Western blot analysis and real-time PCR were used to measure cell proliferation, apoptosis, ion channels and oxidative stress. Cell proliferation was significantly increased, the Bcl-2/Bax ratio and p53 level were upregulated, and Caspase-3 was slightly reduced in the ACO+PF group compared with the ACO group. SCN5A mRNA expression was significantly increased in the ACO+PF group compared with the ACO group, while RyR2 and Cx43 mRNA expression was decreased. Compared with the ACO group, the ACO+PF group showed marked decreases in extracellular lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and intracellular malondialdehyde (MDA), while there was no difference in intracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD). The above data demonstrate that the cardiotoxicity of ACO in H9c2 cells was significantly decreased by PF.