Raspberry Consumption Decreases the Expression of Interleukin-6 in the Liver of Angiotensin II-Infused Rats

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Angiotensin (Ang) II induces inflammation in a number of tissues. Inflammation contribute to the development of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. Thus, the objective of this study was to examine the effects of raspberry consumption on markers of inflammation in the liver of rats-infused with Ang II. Methods Male Sprague-Dawley rats (8-week-old) were fed either an AIN-93M diet alone or supplemented with 10% w/w freeze-dried raspberry powder for seven weeks. At week 4, the animals were subcutaneously implanted with osmotic minipumps, delivering 0.9% saline (control) or Ang II (270 ng/kg body weight/day). Diet and treatment were continued for three additional weeks. Hepatic expression of inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-1β were evaluated by western blot. Results were analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey post hoc test. Data were normalized to control and are expressed as means ± standard deviation. Results Ang II increased liver expression of IL-6 (1.73 ± 0.12, n = 5, vs 1.00 ± 0.17-fold, n = 5, P = 0.009) while supplementation with raspberry attenuated this effect (1.10 ± 0.14-fold, n = 5, P = 0.021). In contrast, no significant differences were observed in the expression of IL-1 β among groups. Conclusions Raspberry supplementation attenuated Ang II-induced increases in IL-6 expression in the liver. Further investigation is needed to elucidate the effects of raspberry supplementation on Ang II-induced inflammation in the liver. Funding Sources This work was supported by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (grant no. 2019–67,017-29,257/project accession no. 1,018,642) from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.