Antihypertensive, cardio- and neuro-protective effects of Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) defatted larvae in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Abstract

In pre-hypertension, moderate control of blood pressure (BP) can be obtained by a nutritional approach. The effects of a diet enriched with defatted larvae of the mealworm Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) (TM) endowed with ACE inhibitory activity was studied in both spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and in the age-matched normotensive Wistar Kyoto strain. These were fed for 4 weeks with standard laboratory rodent chow supplemented with or without TM or captopril. In SHR, the TM diet caused a significant reduction in BP, heart rate and coronary perfusion pressure, as well as an increase in red blood cell glutathione/glutathione disulphide ratio. Rat brain slices of SHR were more resistant to oxidative stress and contained lower levels of inflammatory cytokines, while vascular and liver enzyme-activities were not affected. These results suggest that TM can be considered a new functional food that can lower BP in vivo and thus control cardiovascular-associated risk factors such as hypertension.

Chemical Characterisation and Antihypertensive Effects of Locular Gel and Serum of Lycopersicum esculentum L. var. “Camone” Tomato in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

“…Interestingly, Tsujimoto et al [ 38 ], showed that different vegetable juices, such as cabbage, onion and green pepper, promoted a time-dependent inhibition of CYP3A4 in vitro, while tomato juice did not affect this activity. Liu et al 2009 [ 39 ] showed no differences in ETR- O -dealkylase and NADPH-quinone oxireductase activities in control rats and rats fed with a diet containing 10% tomato powder; the same results were demonstrated feeding SHRs with Tenebrio molitor defatted larvae diet [ 40 ]. Our results are in line with these studies, as Gs and tomatine did not affect the different CYP activities.…”

Olive Leaves and Hibiscus Flowers Extracts-Based Preparation Protect Brain from Oxidative Stress-Induced Injury

“…All animal care and experimental protocols used were approved by the Italian Department of Health (813/2015-PR) and agreed with the European Union Guidelines for the Care and the Use of Laboratory Animals (European Union Directive 2010/63/EU, ). The experimental details were already described [ 19 , 20 ]. Brains of male Wistar rats (250–300 g; Charles River Italia, Calco, Italy), were placed in 0.2 micron sterile filtered artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF) (composition in mM): 120 NaCl; 2 KCl; 1 CaCl 2 ; 1 MgSO 4 ; 25 HEPES; 1 KH 2 PO 4 and 10 glucose, pH 7.4, and cut into slices (400 µm, Stoelting Co., Wood Dale, IL, USA manual chopper) after dissecting the cortex [ 18 ].…”

“…Human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells (ECACC Cat# 94030304, passages [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], grown in standard conditions, as already reported [14] were sub-cultured at 70-80% confluent, medium changed twice/week and experiments were performed by using cells in the exponential phase of growth.…”

“…The colorimetric MTT method [15,20], along with slices tissue edema (TE) [19] were used to check for tissue viability. Absorbance ((OD560 nm-OD630 nm) of untreated slices (controls) was taken as 100% of viability, while TE, given as g H 2 O (g dw) −1 , was calculated according to the formula TE = (wet weight − dry weight)(dry weight) −1 .…”

Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor): Potential and Challenges to Promote Circular Economy

“…Finally, a very recent in vivo study demonstrated that a diet enriched in defatted larvae of mealworm determined an antihypertensive effect in SHR, with a significant reduction in blood pressure, that could be ascribed to ACE inhibition, as well as cardio- and neuroprotective effects that may be due to antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. These results suggest that mealworms may help treat borderline blood pressure values in humans and may be employed as an active ingredient in functional food for the non-pharmacological treatment of pre-hypertension or mild hypertension [ 126 ].…”