七層塔(O. gratissimum, OG)廣泛的使用像是在食物香料和傳統草藥，然而文獻有研究指出其七層塔油的萃取物有數種重要的治療的特性。然而本篇論文是要研究水萃物的七層塔的治療的效果，利用七層塔葉子水萃物作為研究，當心肌細胞被過氧化氫(H2O2)誘導細胞凋亡之後有何影響？氧化傷害會誘導凋亡猜想和心臟血管及心臟功能失調有關。所以本篇論文首先做了七層塔的濃度的增加對心肌細胞存活率是不會有影響，之後再加入了過氧化氫(H2O2)之下對心肌細胞做處理。更近一步的利用DAPI來進行研究可以了解七層塔可以改善心肌細胞的核濃染的情形，以及利用西方墨點法來看，可以得知七層塔可以抑制caspase-3和caspase-9的蛋白表現。七層塔可以增加NF-kappaB的活性表現，從這個結果可以得知七層塔可以改善過氧化氫(H2O2)誘導凋亡問題，進而保護過氧化氫(H2O2)誘導的心肌細胞死亡。分析七層塔成份後，可以得知七層塔主要成份黃酮類和酚酸所組成，七層塔主要有三種多酚類分別是：epicatechin, caffeic acid and rutin 。其中以epicatechin這個成份含量最多，也最為重要。結論是七層塔可以減輕過氧化氫誘導的粒腺體凋亡路徑，並且可以保護心臟細胞的氧化傷害是有益的。
Occimum gratissmium (OG) is widely used as food spice and traditional herb whose oil extract has been shown several important therapeutic properties. However, there are few studies for the therapeutic effects of aqueous extract of OG. Here we aimed to investigate the effects of aqueous extract of OG leaf (OGE) on the apoptosis of cardiomyocyte induced by hydrogen peroxide. Oxidative stress-induced apoptosis is believed to associate with pathogenesis of cardiovascular and cardiac disorders. Our results revealed that OGE dose-dependently increased the cell viability under hydrogen peroxide treatment. Further investigation showed that OGE suppressed the expression of caspase-9 and caspase-3. Moreover, OGE also increased the expression of NF-κB activation.
These findings indicated that OGE alleviated hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptotic signaling and enhanced the NF-κB survival signaling, which protected cardiomyocyte form hydrogen peroxide-induced cell death. Component analysis for common phenolic acids and flavonoids revealed that OGE contained three major polyphenols: epicatechin, caffeic acid and rutin. The protective effects of these major polyphenols were individually investigated and revealed that epicatechin may play a pivotal role in the protection induced by OGE. In conclusion, OGE significantly alleviated mitochondrial apoptotic signaling induced by hydrogen peroxide, which should be beneficial to protect cardiac cells from oxidative stress.
