Comparison of Cardioprotective Effects of Amlodipine, Ficus Carica Leaf and Fruit Extracts on Histopathological Profile of Myocarditis Caused by Doxorubicin in Rat Model

Antineoplastic drugs are an integral part of oncology but a large number of these agents have adverse cardiotoxic effects. Doxorubicin is being widely used since 1960s for multiple tumours like Neuroblastomas, Gynaecological carcinomas, Wilms' tumour, Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, soft tissue sarcomas, Bone sarcomas, Thyroid carcinoma, Breast carcinomas, Testicular carcinomas, Bronchogenic carcinoma, Lymphomas, Bladder carcinomas and 1,2,3,4 Gastric carcinomas. Introduction: Doxorubicin is converted to Doxorubicinol in our body which is approximately 10 times more potent than the parent drug in inhibiting papillary muscle's isometric contraction. At the subcellular level it causes the activation of p38 MAPK (which are important cellular 5 signalling mechanisms) leading to apoptosis. Subsequently a series of events is initiated in apoptotic cells including activation of proteases, sphingomyelinases, vesicle formation, plasma membrane bleb formation, and disruption of cytoskeletal, leading to cytoplasmic contraction, nuclear chromatin conden6 sation, and DNA fragmentation. The oxygen and Annals of King Edward Medical University