Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury: The Perioperative Application and Cardiac Protective Potential of Ginsenoside Preparations

Aim of review: This review aims to elaborate the effects of ginsenosides in the prevention of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MI/R) injury in experimental and clinical studies and further investigate the potential mechanisms contributing to the efficacy of ginsenosides during MI/R procedure.Method: We searched and reviewed the articles and literatures about the applications of ginsenosides in MI/R processes published in the last two decades.Recent findings: A large number of pharmacological cardioprotection strategies, such as molecular targeted drugs, were proven efficacy for attenuating MI/R injury in experimental models, however, the efficacy of currently available pharmacological cardioprotection strategies in clinical settings is not convincing. Ginsenoside, the bioactive constituent in ginseng, has been shown to have multiple physiological and pharmacological activities, such as anti-oxidant, anti-inflammation, and anti-apoptosis effects that may serve to combat myocardial injury during MI/R. Different from most currently available drugs that usually target single signaling molecule, ginsenosides possess multiple properties that may prove to be superior in attenuating MI/R injury perioperatively where post-ischemic myocardial injury is severe in elderly patients with pre-existing cardiovascular abnormalities.Summary: This review discusses current works on the countless pharmacological functions and the potential benefits of ginsenosides in the prevention of MI/R injury. Further large-scale, multi-center clinical researches should be carried out to explore the pharmacological actions of ginsenosides and elucidate whether or not ginsenosides may function better with its multi-target property. Citation: Rui Xue, Shao-Qing Lei, Zhong-Yuan Xia, and Zheng-Yuan Xia. Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury: the perioperative application and cardiac protective potential of ginsenoside preparations. J Anesth Perioper Med 2016; 3: 200-8. doi: 10.24015/JAPM.2016.0027This is an open-access article, published by Evidence Based Communications (EBC). This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format for any lawful purpose. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.