Euphorbia neriifolia L. extract protects against cardiomyocyte damage and heart failure

Euphorbia neriifolia L. extract protects against cardiomyocyte damage and heart failure

Announcing a new release forActa Materia MedicaMagazine. Heart failure (HF) remains a major global health challenge with limited therapeutic options, stimulating the search for novel cardioprotective agents among traditional Chinese medicines.

In this study, screening of 828 herbal extracts in an H9c2 cardiomyocyte model of oxygen-glucose deprivation injury led to the identification ofEuphorbia neriifoliaL. extract (JM04) as a promising candidate. JM04 significantly increased cell viability while reducing lactate dehydrogenase release and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in both H9c2 and primary cardiomyocytes.In vivoJM04 improved cardiac function and attenuated myocardial fibrosis in isoproterenol-induced HF mice as demonstrated by echocardiography and histological analysis.

Network pharmacology and mechanistic studies revealed that JM04 modulated the Nrf2/ROS/HIF-1α axis by exerting free radical scavenging activity, activating the Nrf2 antioxidant pathway, restoring mTOR phosphorylation, and enhancing HIF-1α expression, thereby protecting against cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Furthermore, UPLC-MS/MS identified six active components consistent with network pharmacology predictions, highlighting its multicomponent and multitarget nature. Overall, these results demonstrated that JM04 exerts potent cardioprotective effects through integrated antioxidants and signal modulation, supporting its further development as a potential herbal drug for heart failure intervention.

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