Physiol. Res. 65: 239-250, 2016 https://doi.org/10.33549/physiolres.933045 Reduction in the Amplitude of Shortening and Ca2+ Transient by Phlorizin and Quercetin-3-O-Glucoside in Ventricular Myocytes From Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats N. N. HAMOUDA1, M. A. QURESHI1, J. M. ALKAABI2, M. OZ1, F. C. HOWARTH1 1Departments of Physiology and Pharmacology, and 2Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE University, Al Ain, UAE Received March 25, 2015 Accepted June 5, 2015 On-line October 8, 2015 Summary Corresponding author Diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of cardiovascular morbidity C. Howarth, Department of Physiology, College of Medicine and and mortality. Phlorizin (PHLOR) and quercetin-3-O-glucoside Health Sciences, UAE University, P.O. Box 17666, Al Ain, UAE. (QUER-3-G) are two natural compounds reported to have E-mail:
[email protected] antidiabetic properties by inhibiting sodium/glucose transporters. Their effects on ventricular myocyte shortening and intracellular Introduction Ca2+ in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats were investigated. Video edge detection and fluorescence photometry Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major global health were used to measure ventricular myocyte shortening and problem and thirty-five million people with DM live in intracellular Ca2+, respectively. Blood glucose in STZ rats was the Middle East and North Africa. A variety of 4-fold higher (469.64±22.23 mg/dl, n=14) than in Controls complications can arise from uncontrolled DM including (104.06±3.36 mg/dl, n=16). The amplitude of shortening was cardiovascular diseases, neuropathy, nephropathy and reduced by PHLOR in STZ (84.76±2.91 %, n=20) and Control retinopathy which makes it the leading cause of (83.72±2.65 %, n=23) myocytes, and by QUER-3-G in STZ cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, blindness, end- (79.12±2.28 %, n=20) and Control (76.69±1.92 %, n=30) stage renal failure and non-traumatic limb amputations myocytes.