Abstract
Morinda citrifolia (Noni) is a traditional folk medicinal plant and has a long history of use as a food and medicine. In order to reveal the effects of Noni fruit juice (NFJ) on stroke prevention, we performed experiments using spontaneously hypertensive stroke prone (SHRSP) rats. NFJ did not change rat body weight, food intake, and water intake. However, both systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were significantly decreased after NFJ treatment in SHRSP rats. Furthermore, NFJ significantly increased the survival rate, urinary nitric oxide (NO) concentration was significantly higher in the NFJ group, and endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) phosphorylation levels increased in the brain after NFJ treatment. Two pathways regulate eNOS phosphorylation: the insulin-dependent pathway and the insulin-independent pathway. For the insulin-dependent pathway, phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) and protein kinase B (Akt) did not change in the NFJ group. For the insulin-independent pathway, expression of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation, liver kinase B 1 (LKB1), and silent information regulator 1 (Sirt1) significantly increased in the brain of SHRSP rats after NFJ treatment. These data suggested that NFJ prevented stroke by improved blood circulation, increased NO production, and elevated eNOS phosphorylation by stimulating the insulin-independent pathway (Sirt1-LKB1-AMPK-eNOS).
Highlights
Stroke is a lifestyle disease, and the stroke mortality rate decreases by advanced medical treatment
Noni fruit juice (NFJ) significantly increased the survival rate, urinary nitric oxide (NO) concentration was significantly higher in the NFJ group, and endothelial NO synthase phosphorylation levels increased in the brain after NFJ treatment
When rats were treated daily with NFJ or control for 4 weeks, there were no significant differences in body weight, food intake, and water intake between the two groups (Figure 2A, B, C)
Summary
Stroke is a lifestyle disease, and the stroke mortality rate decreases by advanced medical treatment. There are still many stroke patients in Japan, which places a large healthcare burden on society. One of the main causes of stroke is hypertension [1]. If patients have hypertension for a long time, functional modifications in the cerebrovascular system can occur [2]. It is important to avoid and treat hypertension. Long-term drug therapy may cause side effects, so it is necessary to research and develop novel treatments with few side effects
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