Flavonoids compounds, extracted fro

Flavonoids compounds, extracted from natural plant, such as nobiletin [5], breviscapine [6], and resveratrol [7], exert cardioprotective function through inhibiting the expression of PKC. In recent years, hawthorn leaf flavonoids (HLF), a natural flavonoid, received extensive attention domestically and overseas. Studies have reported that HLF possesses a broad spectrum of biological properties, such as anti-inflammatory [8] and antioxidant [9] and ameliorates hepatic steatosis [10] and anticancer [11] effects. Moreover, quercetin, a chemical component of HLF, protected vascular endothelial cells by inhibiting the expression of PKC [12, 13]. It is well-known that diabetes induced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and subsequently increased inflammation and apoptotic cardiac cell death. Therefore, we hypothesized that HLF could play a protective role against diabetes-induced cardiomyopathy.In the present study, experimental diabetic animal model was induced by low dose of streptozotocin (STZ) combined with high-fat diet on rats. We found support for the hypothesis that HLF attenuates myocardial injury induced by diabetes and explored whether the effects of HLF are mediated through the PKC pathway.