Astragalus Salvia Granules to Benefit the Qi (Qishen Yiqi Keli) protects H9C2 cardiomyocytes by suppressing oxidative stress

Objective: To investigate the effects of Qishen Yiqi Keli (QSYQ; Astragalus Salvia Granules to Benefit the Qi) on ROS scavenging and inhibition of NADPH oxidase in an effort to identify new natural antioxidants. Methods: A total of 23 representative components in QSYQ were investigated, their effects on hydrogen peroxide induced ROS were assayed by dichlorofluorescein assay. Lucigenin chemiluminescence was adopted to test the effect on NADPH oxidase activity in H9C2 cardiomyocyte cells, and pyrogallol autoxidation was adopted to test the superoxide scavenging capacity. Results: Nine compounds in QSYQ could significantly inhibited H2O2-induced ROS increase compared with the model group (P < .05), including tanshinone I, salvianolic acid A, danshinone IIA, and cryptotanshinone from salvia root, luteolin from salvia root, harpagoside, harpagide, and angoroside C from scrophularia root. Nine compounds in QSYQ could significantly inhibited the production of ·−O2− in H9C2 cell. Tanshinone I showed a lowest IC50 value 0.07 μM, the other including salvianolic acid A, cryptotanshinone, and salvianolic acid B, luteolin, isochlorogenic acid C, astragaloside IV, and glycyrrhetinic acid. Licochalcone A inhibited the autoxidation of pyrogallol at a low concentration, and tanshinone I showed no significant inhibitory effect from 2 μM to 20 μM. Conclusion: QSYQ had significant effects on ROS scavenging and inhibition of NADPH oxidase. Tanshinone I and salvianolic acid A are potential NADPH oxidase inhibitors