Aqueous extract of large cardamom inhibits vascular damage, oxidative stress, and metabolic changes in fructose-fed hypertensive rats

ABSTRACT

Purpose

Since metabolic abnormalities such as elevated glucose level and imbalanced lipid profiles increase the risk for hypertension and cause endothelial dysfunction, we evaluated the effect of aqueous extract of large cardamom (AELC) on fructose-induced metabolic hypertension and oxidative stress

Methods

The male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 6 groups with 5 rats in each group, and each group was fed with 10% fructose in drinking water for 8 weeks. Starting from week 5, animals were treated with 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg/day AELC or Losartan (10 mg/kg/day). Systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure was measured once in every seven days using the tail-cuff method. Vascular function, plasma nitric oxide (NO), glucose, lipid profiles, serum biochemical, and anti-oxidant parameters were also evaluated.

Results

Rats fed with fructose showed higher blood pressure, serum cholesterol, and triglyceride levels, but decreased in the AELC or Losartan treatment group. Treatments with AELC prevented exaggerated plasma glucose and oxidative stress and restored the nitric oxide level in fructose-fed rats. Besides, it also reduced vascular proliferation and improved the relaxation response of acetylcholine in the aorta pre-contracted with phenylephrine.

Conclusion

In summary, the obtained results suggest that AELC can prevent and reverse the high blood pressure induced by fructose, probably by restoring nitric oxide level and by improving altered metabolic parameters.

KEYWORDS:

• Large cardamom
• Fructose
• Metabolic hypertension
• Nitric oxide
• Endothelium

Acknowledgments

We are thankful to Amrita School of Pharmacy, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham and the staff members of the Central Lab Animal Facility for all their assistance. The authors would like to thank the Spices Board of India for providing the large cardamom as a gift sample. We would also like to thank Mr. Vinod RS, Asst Professor, Mar Ephraem College of Engineering & Technology for editing and reviewing this manuscript for the English language

Disclosure statement

The authors would like to confirm that there are no established conflicts of interest connected with this publication.

Ethics statements

The animal experiment protocol was approved by the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (IAEC) of the Central Laboratory Animal Facility of Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi (Approval number: IAEC/2017/4/7). The animals are kept following the guidelines of the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Laboratory Animals (CPCSEA).

Author contribution

Kanthlal S K conducted the research. Kanthlal S K and Arya V S participated in the article preparation and conduction of statistical analysis. Dr. Umadevi, Dr. Bindhu Paul-Prasanth, and Dr.Vijayakumar designed this work and critically reviewed the manuscript.

List of abbreviations

AELC: Aqueous extract of large cardamom; ANOVA: Analysis of variance; CK-MB: Creatinine Kinase MB; GSH: Glutathione; HDL: High-density lipoprotein; LDL: Low-density lipoprotein; MDA: Malondialdehyde; NO: Nitric oxide; ROS: Reactive oxygen species; SOD: Superoxide dismutase; TBA: Thiobarbituric acid

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a research grant from the Spices Board of India, NH-Bypass, Sugandha Bhavan, Palarivattom P.O., Kochi, India;