In this study, we examine whether Clitoria ternatea Linn. (CT) can prevent Nω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME)-induced cardiac and vascular dysfunction in rats. Male Sprague Dawley rats were given L-NAME (40 mg/kg, drinking water) and orally administered with CT extract (300 mg/kg/day) or lisinopril (2.5 mg/kg/day) for 5 weeks. The main phytochemical components of the CT extract were found to be flavonoids. The CT extract alleviated the high blood pressure in rats receiving L-NAME. Decreased vasorelaxation responses to acetylcholine and enhanced contractile responses to sympathetic nerve stimulation in aortic rings and mesenteric vascular beds of L-NAME treated rats were ameliorated by CT extract supplementation. Left ventricular hypertrophy and dysfunction were developed in L-NAME rats, which were partially prevented by CT extract treatment. The CT extract alleviated upregulated endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression, decreased plasma nitrate/nitrite levels, and increased oxidative stress in L-NAME rats. It suppressed high levels of serum angiotensin-converting enzyme activity, plasma angiotensin II, and cardiac angiotensin II type 1 receptor, NADPH oxidases 2, nuclear factor-kappa B, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha expression. The CT extract, therefore, partially prevented L-NAME-induced hypertension and cardiovascular alterations in rats. These effects might be related to a reduction in the oxidative stress and renin–angiotensin system activation due to L-NAME in rats.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a high protein diet comprising breast meat from commercial broiler (BR), Thai native (PD), and commercial broiler × Thai native crossbred (KKU-ONE) chicken on serum uric acid, biochemical parameters, and antioxidant activities in rats. Male Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into four groups. The control group received a standard chow diet, and the other three groups were fed a high protein diet (70% standard diet + 30% BR, PD, or KKU-ONE chicken breast) for five weeks. The PD- and KKU-ONE-fed rats had lower plasma total cholesterol and triglyceride levels than the control rats. A decrease in HDL-c was also observed in rats fed a diet containing BR. Liver weight, liver enzyme, plasma ALP, xanthine oxidase activity, serum uric acid, creatinine, superoxide production, and plasma malondialdehyde levels increased in BR-fed rats. The findings of this study might provide evidence to support the use of Thai native and Thai native crossbred chicken breast meat as functional foods.

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Hypertension is a chronic disorder that contributes to cardiovascular disease (World Health, 2009). Currently, it is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in people worldwide (James et al., 2014). Hypertension associated with sexual dysfunction has been reported in male patients with hypertension (Fogari et al., 2001). Additionally, decreased sexual activity has been observed in male patients with essential hypertension, which has been associated with reduced testosterone levels (Fogari et al., 2002). A previous study has reported that serum total testosterone and epididymal sperm motility are significantly reduced in rats with nitric oxide (NO) depletion (Adedara et al., 2018). It is well known that testosterone is an essential hormone for the initiation and maintenance of spermatogenic processes (Chauhan et al., 2007), synthesised by testicular Leydig cells using cholesterol as its substrate (Li et al., 2011). The biosynthesis of testosterone requires steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR), a mitochondrial cholesterol transporter, that transfers lipids from outside the mitochondrial membrane to the inside (Stocco, 2001). Reportedly,