Ginsenoside Rb1 Ameliorates Age-Related Myocardial Dysfunction by Regulating the NF- κ B Signaling Pathway

Age-related myocardial dysfunction is a very large healthcare burden. Here, we aimed to investigate whether ginsenoside Rb1 (Rb1) improves age-related myocardial dysfunction and to identify the relevant molecular mechanism. Young mice and aged mice were injected with Rb1 or vehicle for 3 months. Then, their cardiac function was inspected by transthoracic echocardiography. Serum and myocardium tissue were collected from all mice for histological or molecular expression analyses, including aging-related proteins, markers relevant to fibrosis and inflammation, and markers indicating the activation of the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF- κ B) pathway. Compared with the control condition, Rb1 treatment significantly increased the ejection fraction percentage and significantly decreased the internal diameter and volume of the left ventricle at the end-systolic and end-diastolic phases in aged mice. Rb1 treatment reduced collagen deposition and collagen I, collagen III, and transforming growth factor- β 1 protein expression levels in aged hearts. Rb1 also decreased the aging-induced myocardial inflammatory response, as measured by serum or myocardial interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor- α levels. Furthermore, Rb1 treatment in aged mice increased cytoplasmic NF- κ B but decreased nuclear NF- κ B, which indicated the suppression of the NF- κ B signaling pathway by regulating the translocation of NF- κ B. Rb1 could alleviate aging-related myocardial dysfunction by suppressing fibrosis and inflammation, which is potentially associated with regulation of the NF- κ B signaling pathway.