Salacia oblonga root improves cardiac lipid metabolism in Zucker diabetic fatty rats: modulation of cardiac PPAR-alpha-mediated transcription of fatty acid metabolic genes.

Excess cardiac triglyceride accumulation in diabetes and obesity induces lipotoxicity, which predisposes the myocytes to death. On the other hand, increased cardiac fatty acid (FA) oxidation plays a role in the development of myocardial dysfunction in diabetes. PPAR-alpha plays an important role in maintaining homeostasis of lipid metabolism.