Lycium barbarum polysaccharide exhibits cardioprotection in an experimental model of ischemia-reperfusion damage

Cardiovascular diseases are a major cause of mortality and disability worldwide. The present study investigated the cardio-protective effects of polysaccharides extracted from Lycium barbarum (LB), the fruit of which is traditionally used in Chinese medicine. Polysaccharides were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and high-performance liquid chromatography techniques. The present study demonstrated that LB polysaccharides are composed of glucose and fructose monosaccharides in a molar ratio of 1:2. A total of 36 rats were divided into three groups plus a control group, with nine animals in each group, and were used for studying the cardioprotective effects of LB polysaccharides. The low-dose group received 150 mg/kg body weight (BW) polysaccharides and the high-dose group received 300 mg/kg BW polysaccharides. The results demonstrated that the LB polysaccharides reduced the levels of myocardial lactate dehydrogenase and increased the sodium-potassium ATPase and calcium ATPase activities in rats with heart ischemia-reperfusion injury. In addition, there was a decrease in the myocardial Bax-positive expression and the rate of myocardial cell apoptosis, along with a dose-dependent increase in Bcl-2-positive expression. Therefore, it was concluded that LB polysaccharides are able to halt the progression of cardiovascular diseases.