Abstract: Aim To research the protective effect and mechanisms of taurine on myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury in rats. Methods Myocardial ischemia reperfusion models were established in SD rats. The effects of taurine on the size of myocardial infarction and the changes of activity of SOD,and the levels of MDA and NO in myocardium and plasma of rats with myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury were observed. Results In rats with myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury, the taurine could reduce the size of my ocardial infarction (P<0.05,0.01), raise the activity of SOD (P<0.01) and decrease the levels MDA and NO (P<0.05,0.01) in myocardium and plasma. Conclusion The taurine has protective effect on myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury in rats. It may be related to raising the activity of SOD and decreasing the levels of MDA and NO in myocardiun and plasma.

Key words: taurine, myocardial ischemia and reperfusion, superoxide dismutase (SOD), mal-ondialdehyde(MDA), nitric oxide(NO)