Abstract
Acetylcholine (ACh) is a novel antihypertensive food component. Here, we demonstrate the differential effects of oral ACh on high and normal blood pressure in rats. Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) and Wistar–Kyoto (WKY) rats were administered ACh orally. The blood pressure and heart rate of SHRs were significantly lowered with ACh doses of 10−5 and 10−3 mol/kg body weight (b.w.), and the urinary catecholamine levels were significantly decreased with 10−3 mol/kg b.w. In contrast, oral ACh administration had no effect on WKY rats. This difference was likely caused by differences in sympathetic nervous activity and the baroreflex between strains. Comparison of gene sequences between the two strains revealed Chga mutations, suggesting that changes in the expression of chromogranin A might be involved in the baroreflex in SHRs. Oral ACh had an antihypertensive effect under hypertension but not normotension, indicating that this may be used safely to prevent hypertension.
Highlights
Hypertension is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, accounting for approximately 17 million deaths per year worldwide and corresponding to almost onethird of overall global mortality [1]
We investigated the effects of oral doses of ACh on spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), produced by the selective mating of hypertensive Wistar-strain rats [13] and Wistar–Kyoto (WKY) rats, which have been inbred from the same parental strain and are utilized as a normotensive control for SHRs
We explored the changes in blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and excretion of catecholamine after single oral doses of ACh to determine the differential effects of ACh under hypertension and normotension
Summary
Hypertension is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, accounting for approximately 17 million deaths per year worldwide and corresponding to almost onethird of overall global mortality [1]. Antihypertensive foods are expected to prevent and manage hypertension, and various types of food factors with pressure-lowering effects have been studied [4]. In a randomized placebo-controlled trial comprising individuals with higher blood pressure (BP), the intake of eggplant powder, providing 2.3 mg/day of ACh, improved BP, demonstrating the effectiveness of ACh as a novel antihypertensive food factor [9]. The effects of oral doses of ACh in individuals with normal BP are currently unknown. Such differences in efficacy based on differences in BP need to be investigated to establish the safety of ACh as a novel antihypertensive food factor. We compared gene sequences of SHR and WKY rats to examine potential causes of the differential effects of oral ACh; this is because hypertension in SHRs may be caused by mutations in genes involved in BP regulation in WKY rats [14]
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