Oat Beta-Glucan Alone and in Combination with Hydrochlorothiazide Lowers High Blood Pressure in Male but Not Female Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

Oats are considered a functional food due to the beneficial health effects associated with their consumption and are suitable to be explored for their ability to prevent or manage chronic disease, such as hypertension. Here, we examined the cardiovascular benefits of an oat beta-glucan extract in male and female spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) to unravel its sex-specific roles when used with an anti-hypertensive medication, hydrochlorothiazide. Five-week-old male and female SHRs and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were treated with oat beta-glucan and hydrochlorothiazide for 15 weeks. Twenty-week-old male and female SHRs showed high blood pressure (BP), cardiac remodeling, and cardiac dysfunction. These animals also had significantly increased levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), angiotensin II, and norepinephrine. Treatments with beta-glucan and hydrochlorothiazide were able to differentially prevent high BP, cardiac dysfunction, and alterations in malondialdehyde (MDA), angiotensin II, and norepinephrine in 20-week-old male and female SHRs. To conclude, beta-glucan alone and in combination with hydrochlorothiazide may be a promising a strategy for managing hypertension and related cardiac complications.

Automated summary

Oats are considered a functional food that can prevent or manage chronic diseases like hypertension. In this study, the cardiovascular benefits of an oat beta-glucan extract were examined in male and female spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) in combination with an anti-hypertensive medication called hydrochlorothiazide. The results showed that the beta-glucan extract, either alone or in combination with hydrochlorothiazide, could effectively prevent high blood pressure, cardiac dysfunction, and oxidative stress in the SHRs.