Administration of 200 mg/kg/day metformin i.p. for 6 successive days before induction of ischemia and promptly at the onset of reperfusion to rats enhanced eNOS (Fig. 7), HO-1 (Fig. 9), CSE (Fig. 10), and Beclin-1 (Fig. 11) protein expressions. This evidence concerns the gene BECN1 and ischemia.