Front Cardiovasc Med. 2026 Jul 10;13:1857264. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2026.1857264. eCollection 2026.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Recently, Myocardial infarction (MI) became the foremost causes of mortality globally. Growing modern pharmacological evidences indicate that food based herbal formulations can offer promising therapeutic benefits in the management of cardiovascular diseases.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the current study, we investigated the therapeutic potential of a newly developed nitrate-enriched extract from Amaranthus leaves, Oxystorm, and its blend with bioactive food constituent, curcuminoids enriched turmeric extract (BCM-95) in an in vivo model of MI, induced by the ligation through left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD). The model caused significant alterations in cardiac function and structure. In both models, Wistar rats were randomly divided into different groups (three different control groups namely vehicle, sham, and LAD), a positive control group (verapamil), low-dose Oxystorm, and high-dose Oxystorm treatment groups, and a synergistic group administered with Oxystorm and turmeric extract. Following reperfusion, samples were collected to determine cardiac injury biomarkers; LDH, CK-MB, myoglobin, and troponin I. Moreover, inflammatory biomarkers (interleukin-6 and TNF-α) and endogenous oxidative stress markers were assessed.
RESULTS: LAD-induced MI significantly increased LDH, CK-MB, oxidative stress, and cardiac inflammation. However, treatment with Oxystorm and its turmeric blend alleviated levels of lactate enzyme, CK-MB, troponin-I, interleukins, and malondialdehyde, which reduced infarct size, though enhanced antioxidant defense (GSH and SOD).
CONCLUSION: The enriched dietary nitrate content in Oxystorm, when combined with polyphenol-rich turmeric extract (BCM-95), showed cardioprotective potential, which may be associated with nitrate/NO-related mechanisms, attenuation of oxidative stress, and suppression of inflammatory pathways. However, nitric oxide bioavailability and related signaling pathways were not directly assessed in the present study. Taken together, the pioneer observations, suggest that Oxystorm and its turmeric combination, may serve as adjuvants for the management of ischemia and related cardiac diseases.
PMID:42499795 | PMC:PMC13395918 | DOI:10.3389/fcvm.2026.1857264