Role of alginate in the mechanism by which brown seaweed Saccharina japonica intake alleviates an increase in blood pressure in 2-kidney, 1-clip renovascular hypertensive rats

ABSTRACT

Background

The intake of Saccharina japonica (SJ), a widely consumed brown seaweed, has been reported to decrease blood pressure (BP) in hypertensive rats. It has been suggested that this effect is related to an increase in fecal sodium excretion (SE) by alginate (Alg) to the gastrointestinal tract; however, the mechanism is still unclear. This study investigated how different seaweeds with different amounts of Alg suppressed BP increase and enhanced fecal SE in 2-kidney, 1-clip renovascular hypertensive (2K1C) rats given SJ diet.

Methods

Rats with 2K1C or sham operation were fed a normal-/high-salt diet with some kinds of seaweeds (5.0%, w/w) or SJ extract with different Alg contents for 6 weeks. We measured systolic BP every week and mean arterial pressure at the end, and measured the total and molecular weights of Alg in each seaweed. Then, we evaluated the relationship of the Alg amount in each seaweed with the suppression of BP increase in 2K1C rats. Finally, urinary and fecal SE for 24 h was measured.

Results

The intake of SJ, SJ extract, Saccharina ochotensis (SO) blades and SO roots suppressed BP increase in 2K1C rats, but the strength was not proportional to the amounts of Alg contained in the seaweeds. Although SJ intake increased fecal SE in 2K1C rats fed a high-salt diet, the fecal SE was much less than urinary SE.

Conclusion

The sodium excretion in feces by Alg in SJ may not be one of the major mechanisms by which SJ intake attenuates hypertension in 2K1C rats.

KEYWORDS:

• Seaweed
• alginate
• prevention of hypertension
• renovascular hypertension
• sodium excretion

Acknowledgments

We appreciate former and current members of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, Kobe Women’s University.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the JSPS [15K00862]; grants of Education and Research from Yukiyoshi Institute [K3023]; the Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from Salt Science Research Foundation [1825] to Nobutaka Kurihara; the Sasakawa Scientific Research Grant from The Japan Science Society [28-620] to Saki Maruyama.