[Antioxidative properties of cardioactive agents].

Calcium entry blockers reduce the ischemia-reperfusion induced damage to the myocardium. Free oxygen radicals play a role in the pathogenesis of this injury. The mechanism of the protective action of calcium entry blockers is unknown in these conditions and appears to be independent of the blockade of slow calcium channels. As demonstrated in this paper, the calcium entry blockers nifedipine, verapamil and diltiazem are effective scavengers of free oxygen radicals and this characteristic may be importantly involved in their protective effect against myocardial damage induced by ischemia and reperfusion. The pro-oxidative capacity of the antineoplastic drug cisplatin is assumed to play a role in the mechanism of its renal toxicity action. The presented study showed that the new antioxidative substance with antiarrhythmic and antihypoxic properties-stobadine-succeeded in inhibiting the pro-oxidative effect of cisplatin. Our findings suggest that administration of cisplatin along with antioxidants may result in a protective effect against the renal toxicity of cisplatin. (Fig. 5, Ref. 38.)