Blueberry extract improves redox balance and functional parameters in the right ventricle from rats with pulmonary arterial hypertension

• Published in: European journal of nutrition 2022-02, Vol.61 (1), p.373-386
• Main Authors: Türck, Patrick, Salvador, Isadora Schein, Campos-Carraro, Cristina, Ortiz, Vanessa, Bahr, Alan, Andrades, Michael, Belló-Klein, Adriane, da Rosa Araujo, Alex Sander
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal models; Animals; Antioxidants; Blood pressure; Blueberry Plants; Cardiovascular diseases; Catalase; Catheterization; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Disease Models, Animal; Echocardiography; Heart Ventricles; Hypertension; Hypertension, Pulmonary - chemically induced; Hypertension, Pulmonary - drug therapy; Hypertrophy; Lipid peroxidation; Lung diseases; Male; Monocrotaline; NAD(P)H oxidase; Nutrition; Original Contribution; Oxidation-Reduction; Oxidative stress; Pathophysiology; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension; Pulmonary arteries; Pulmonary artery; Pulmonary hypertension; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Redox properties; Ventricle
• ISSN: 1436-6207; 1436-6215
• DOI: 10.1007/s00394-021-02642-9

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.