Figure 3.

Lycopene (Lyc) reduces myocardial infarct size after ischemia-reperfusion (I/R). In vivo hearts were subjected to 20 min of ischemia followed by 4 h of reperfusion. Four microliters of 15.6 μM lycopene (in 0.1% DMSO saline solution, v/v) or vehicle per gram bodyweight was administrated via tail vein injection after 20 min of LAD ligation. The extent of myocardial necrosis was assessed by TTC staining. (A) A scheme showing experiment design; (B) representative sections of the extent of myocardial infarction; and (C) ratio of the infarct size to the area at risk (AAR) (left) and the ratio of AAR to the total myocardial area (right). Values are means ± SEM of ≥4 in each group, * p < 0.01 vs. vehicle.