Journal
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NUTRITION
Volume 61, Issue 1, Pages 373-386Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s00394-021-02642-9
Keywords
Blueberry; Pulmonary hypertension; Right ventricle; Oxidative stress; Monocrotaline
Categories
Funding
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq)
- Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS)
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This study demonstrated that blueberry extract can partially mitigate pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) by improving the redox state of the right ventricle (RV) in an animal model. These findings provide insights into the potential therapeutic effects of blueberry extract in chronic progressive cardiovascular diseases involving redox balance, such as PAH.
Purpose Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a disease characterized by increased pulmonary vascular resistance and right ventricle (RV) failure. In this context, oxidative stress is an essential element contributing to PAH's pathophysiology. Thus, blueberry (BB), which has a high antioxidant capacity, emerges as a natural therapeutic approach in PAH. This work evaluated the effect of BB extract on redox balance in RV in a PAH's animal model. Methods Male Wistar rats (200 +/- 20 g) (n = 72) were randomized into eight groups: control (CTR); monocrotaline (MCT); CTR and MCT treated at doses of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg BB. PAH was induced by administration of MCT (60 mg/kg, intraperitoneal). Rats were treated with BB orally for 5 weeks (2 weeks before monocrotaline and 3 weeks after monocrotaline injection). On day 35, rats were submitted to echocardiography and catheterization, then euthanasia and RV harvesting for biochemical analyses. Results RV hypertrophy, observed in the MCT groups, was reduced with BB treatment. MCT elevated RV systolic pressure and pressure/time derivatives, while the intervention with BB decreased these parameters. PAH decreased RV output and pulmonary artery outflow acceleration/ejection time ratio, while increased RV diameters, parameters restored by BB treatment. Animals from the MCT group showed elevated lipid peroxidation and NADPH oxidase activity, outcomes attenuated in animals treated with BB, which also led to increased catalase activity. Conclusion Treatment with BB partially mitigated PAH, which could be associated with improvement of RV redox state. Such findings constitute an advance in the investigation of the role of BB extract in chronic progressive cardiovascular diseases that involve the redox balance, such as PAH.
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