BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis and restenosis are inflammatory responses involving free radicals and lipid peroxidation and may be prevented/cured by antioxidant-mediated lipid peroxidation inhibition. Salvianolic acid (Sal B), a water-soluble antioxidant obtained from a Chinese medicinal herb, is believed to have multiple preventive and therapeutic effects against human vascular diseases. In this study the in vitro and in vivo inhibitory effects of Sal B on oxidative stress were determined. RESULTS: In human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs), Sal B reduced oxidative stress, inhibited low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation and reduced oxidised LDL-induced cytotoxicity. Sal B inhibited Cu(2+)-induced LDL oxidation in vitro (with a potency 16.3 times that of probucol) and attenuated HAEC-mediated LDL oxidation as well as reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. In cholesterol-fed New Zealand White rabbits (with probucol as positive control), Sal B intake reduced Cu(2+)-induced LDL oxidation, lipid deposition in the thoracic aorta, intimal thickness of the aortic arch and thoracic aorta and neointimal formation in the abdominal aorta. CONCLUSION: The data obtained in this study suggest that Sal B protects HAECs from oxidative injury-mediated cell death via inhibition of ROS production. The antioxidant activity of Sal B may help explain its efficacy in the treatment of vascular diseases. (C) 2010 Society of Chemical Industry
