Impact of Brazil Nut (Bertholletia excelsa, H.B.K.) Supplementation on Body Composition, Blood Pressure, and the Vascular Reactivity of Wistar Rats When Submitted to a Hypersodium Diet

Abstract

Introdution: Endothelium integrity is a key that maintains vascular homeostasis but it can suffer irreversible damage by blood pressure changes, reflecting an imbalance in the maintenance of vascular homeostasis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa, H.B.K.) (BN) supplementation (10% in chow, wt/wt) on the vascular reactivity of Wistar rats during chronic exposure to a sodium overload (1% in water).

Methods: First, male Wistar rats were allocated into two groups: Control Group (CG) and the Hypersodic Group (HG) for 4 weeks. Afterward, the CG was divided into the Brazil Nut Group (BNG) and the HG Group into the Hypersodic Brazil Nut Group (HBNG) for a further 8 weeks, totaling 4 groups. Blood pressure was measured during the protocol. At the end of the protocol, the vascular reactivity procedure was performed. Glucose, lipid profile, lipid peroxidation, and platelet aggregation were analyzed in the serum. Body composition was determined by the carcass technique.

Results: The groups that were supplemented with the BN chow presented less body mass gain and body fat mass, together with lower serum glucose levels. The HG Group presented an increase in blood pressure and a higher platelet aggregation, while the BN supplementation was able to blunt this effect. The HG Group also showed an increase in contractile response that was phenylephrine-induced and a decrease in maximum relaxation that was acetylcholine-induced when compared to the other groups.

Conclusion: The BN supplementation was able to prevent an impaired vascular function in the early stages of arterial hypertension, while also improving body composition, serum glucose, and platelet aggregation.

Keywords:

• Brazil nut
• vascular reactivity
• sodium
• hypertension
• adiposity

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the financial support that was received from the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES - Finance Code 001); the Foundation of Amparo for the Research of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ - Grant Number E-26/210.792/2014 and E-26/203.269/2017), and the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq - Grant Number 310959/2017-9). The authors would also thank all of the workers involved in the routine activities of the laboratories.

Disclosure statement

No conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, are declared by the authors. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Additional information

Funding

This project was supported by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES - Finance Code 001); the Foundation of Amparo for the Research of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ - Grant Number E-26/210.792/2014), and the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq - Grant Number 310959/2017-9).