In the present study, we examined whether
rutaecarpine protects against
myocardial ischemia-
reperfusion injury in rats and whether the protective effects of
rutaecarpine are related to activation of
capsaicin-sensitive sensory nerves. Rats were pretreated with
rutaecarpine 10 min before the experiment, and then the left main coronary artery of rat hearts was subjected to 60-min occlusion followed by 3-h reperfusion. The
infarct size, serum concentration of
creatine kinase, and CGRP concentration in plasma were measured. Pretreatment with
rutaecarpine (100 or 300 microg/kg, i.v.) significantly reduced
infarct size and
creatine kinase release concomitantly with a significant increase in plasma concentrations of CGRP. These effects of
rutaecarpine were completely abolished by
capsazepine (38 mg/kg, s.c.), a competitive
vanilloid receptor antagonist, or by pretreatment with
capsaicin (50 mg/kg, s.c.), which selectively depletes transmitters in
capsaicin-sensitive sensory nerves. These results suggest that
rutaecarpine protects against
myocardial ischemia-
reperfusion injury in rats and that the protective effects of
rutaecarpine are related to activation of
capsaicin-sensitive sensory nerves via activating
vanilloid receptors.