Comparative effects of plant oils on the cerebral hemorrhage in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats

Abstract

Objectives: Since oils and fats can induce metabolic syndrome, leading to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, the present study was performed to find out whether the plant oils affect the cerebral hemorrhage in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive (SHR-SP) rats.

Methods: From 47 days of age, male SHR-SP rats were given drinking water containing 1% NaCl to induce hypertension, and simultaneously fed semi-purified diets containing 10% perilla oil, canola oil, or shortening. The onset time of convulsion following cerebral hemorrhage was recorded, and the areas of hemorrhage and infarction were analyzed in the stroke brains.

Results: In comparison with 58-day survival of SHR-SP rats during feeding NaCl alone, perilla oil extended the survival time to 68.5 days, whereas canola oil shortened it to 45.7 days. Feeding perilla oil greatly reduced the total volume of cerebral hemorrhage from 17.27% in the control group to 4.53%, while shortening increased the lesions to 21.23%. In a microscopic analysis, perilla oil also markedly decreased the hemorrhagic and infarction lesions to 1/10 of those in control rats, in contrast to an exacerbating effect of shortening. In blood analyses, perilla oil reduced blood total cholesterol and low-density lipoproteins which were increased in SHR-SP, but canola oil further increased them and markedly lowered platelet counts.

Discussion: Perilla oil delayed and attenuated cerebral hemorrhage by improving hyperlipidemia in hypertensive stroke animals, in contrast to the aggravating potential of canola oil and shortening. It is suggested that perilla oil should be the first choice oil for improving metabolic syndrome in hypertensive persons at risk of hemorrhagic stroke.

Keywords:

• Stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR-SP)
• Cerebral hemorrhage
• Hyperlipidemia
• Perilla oil
• Canola oil
• Shortening

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Contributors

J.C., J.-Y.J., J.K., and K.S. performed animal experiments. K.S.K. and D.P. analyzed blood parameters. T.-S.K., S.-P.L., and J.L. prepared and analyzed test materials. B.A. and E.-K.C. performed microscopic examination. Y.-B.K. designed the study and wrote the manuscript.

Conflicts of interest

None.

Ethics approval

The study protocols met the guidelines of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of Laboratory Animal Center at Chungbuk National University, Korea, and all experimental procedures were approved by the committee.

Acknowledgment

This work was supported by ‘Food Functionality Evaluation program’ under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and partly Korea Food Research Institute.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by ‘Food Functionality Evaluation program’ under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and partly Korea Food Research Institute.