Lavender Oil Attenuates Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury Through Inhibition of Autophagy and Stimulation of Angiogenesis

Myocardial infarction (MI) is a serious threat to human health that creates millions of death annually. In this study, we went on to examine molecular mechanism of lavender oil that which by give rises to cardioprotection against MI. An MI model was established in male Wistar rats by ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) and lavender oil at 100 mg/kg concentration 1 h after reperfusion was intraperitoneally administrated. ELISA assay was used to evaluate the activities of myocardial injury markers. Western blot and immunohistochemical assays were used to evaluate the expression of beclin-1, LC3II/LC3I ratio, CD34 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). RT-PCR was applied to investigate the mRNA levels of apoptotic factors. Compared to sham, increased levels of myocardial injury markers, pro-apoptotic and autophagic factors were found in MI rats that were reversed by post-treatment with lavender oil. Likewise, reduced levels of anti-apoptotic factors and VEGF were observed in MI/R group compared to sham that reversed by lavender oil. Collectively, our findings showed the validity of lavender oil as an excellent candidate to create cardioprotection effects against MI/R injury.