Abstract
Grape seed extract contains high concentration of polyphenols that are well known as potent vasodilators. Herein, we investigated the blood pressure-lowering effect of enzyme-treated grape seed extract (ET-GSE) and the involvement of endothelium nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), which plays an important role in the regulation of vasodilation and relaxation of blood vessels in male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Six-week-old male Wistar Kyoto rats and SHRs were orally administered ET-GSE (15 and 30 mg/kg/day) as treatments for 8 weeks. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured by the tail-cuff method. After treatment for 8 weeks, thoracic aortas of sacrificed rats were harvested for detecting eNOS by Western blot analysis. SHRs treated with ET-GSE exhibited significantly lower SBP and DBP as well as higher expression of eNOS compared with control animals (p<0.05). These findings suggest that ET-GSE can contribute to regulate blood pressure through up-regulated eNOS expression for nitric oxide production.
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