Labetalol is a medication used to treat maternal hypertension during pregnancy. However, it is often associated with many side effects. Recently, several studies have been focused on the protective effect of medicinal plant extracts, such as ginger, against drugs inducing toxicity. Therefore, it has been hypothesized that ginger aqueous extraction can ameliorate labetalol-induced histological, ultrastructural changes, DNA damage, and apoptosis in fetal heart tissue. To achieve the aim of this study, sixty pregnant female albino rats were divided into 4 groups (15 each). Group I (Control). Group II received ginger (200 mg/kg). Group III received labetalol (300 mg/kg). Group IV received labetalol first followed by ginger. All groups were orally injected daily during the organogenesis phase of gestation i.e., from the 6th to the 15th day, and sacrificed at the 20th day of gestation. Results showed that labetalol-induced marked histological and ultrastructural alterations. Also, there was severe DNA damage and an increase in the apoptotic rates determined by Annexin-V/PI dual staining assay. Injection of the ginger aqueous extract caused evident improvement in cardiac tissue, DNA damage, and apoptotic rates. In conclusion, the results suggest that ginger extract could be a potential candidate agent for reducing labetalol-induced cardiotoxicity in the fetal heart of albino rats.

拉贝洛尔是一种用于治疗妊娠期高血压的药物。然而，它通常与许多副作用相关。最近，一些研究重点关注生姜等药用植物提取物对药物毒性的保护作用。因此，推测生姜水提取物可以改善拉贝洛尔诱导的胎儿心脏组织的组织学、超微结构变化、DNA 损伤和细胞凋亡。为了实现本研究的目的，将 60 只怀孕雌性白化大鼠分为 4 组（每组 15 只）。第一组（对照）。第二组接受生姜（200 毫克/千克）。第三组接受拉贝洛尔（300 mg/kg）。第四组首先接受拉贝洛尔，然后接受生姜。所有组在妊娠器官发生期即第6天至第15天每天口服注射，并在妊娠第20天处死。结果显示拉贝洛尔引起显着的组织学和超微结构改变。此外，通过膜联蛋白-V/PI 双染色测定发现，存在严重的 DNA 损伤和细胞凋亡率增加。注射生姜水提取物可明显改善心脏组织、DNA 损伤和细胞凋亡率。总之，结果表明生姜提取物可能是减少拉贝洛尔引起的白化大鼠胎心心脏毒性的潜在候选药物。