Bee Bread Ameliorates Vascular Inflammation and Impaired Vasorelaxation in Obesity-Induced Vascular Damage Rat Model: The Role of eNOS/NO/cGMP-Signaling Pathway

Abstract

Obesity and hyperlipidemia are major risk factors for developing vascular diseases. Bee bread (BB) has been reported to exhibit some biological actions, including anti-obesity and anti-hyperlipidemic. This study aims to investigate whether bee bread can ameliorate vascular inflammation and impaired vasorelaxation activity through eNOS/NO/cGMP pathway in obese rats. Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups (n = 10/group), namely: control (normal group), obese rats (OB group), obese rats treated with bee bread (0.5 g/kg/day, OB/BB group) and obese rats treated with orlistat (10 mg/kg/day, OB/OR group). The latter three groups were given a high-fat diet (HFD) for 6 weeks to induced obesity before being administered with their respective treatments for another 6 weeks. After 12 weeks of the total experimental period, rats in the OB group demonstrated significantly higher Lee obesity index, lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein), aortic proinflammatory markers (tumor necrosis factor-α, nuclear factor-κβ), aortic structural damage and impairment in vasorelaxation response to acetylcholine (ACh). Bee bread significantly ameliorated the obesity-induced vascular damage manifested by improvements in the lipid profile, aortic inflammatory markers, and the impaired vasorelaxation activity by significantly enhancing nitric oxide release, promoting endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) immunoexpression. These findings suggest that the administration of bee bread ameliorates the impaired vasorelaxation response to ACh by improving eNOS/NO/cGMP-signaling pathway in obese rats, suggesting its vascular therapeutic role.

Hepatoprotective Effect of Bee Bread in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD) Rats: Impact on Oxidative Stress and Inflammation

“…Bee bread improved hyperlipidemia by lowering TG, TC and LDL levels, and, in contrast, increased the HDL level. Our results coincide with previous studies that reported the hypolipidemic effects of bee bread [ 41 , 42 , 76 ]. This beneficial property of bee bread could be ascribed to the presence of flavonoids, which have been reported to exert their antioxidative property towards LDL by inhibiting its susceptibility to oxidation [ 77 ].…”

“…This is confirmed by our present study in which significantly increased levels of pro-inflammatory mediators TNF-α and NF-κβ, and a significantly decreased level of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 were observed in the liver of the HFD group, as well as elevation in serum lipids and the deposition of collagen fibers, which indicated the presence of liver fibrosis in this group. Bee bread (0.5 g/kg/day for 12 weeks) has been previously reported to suppress TNF-α and NF-κβ, and increase IL-10 levels in obesity-induced aortic vascular damage [ 76 ] and HFD-induced renal damage [ 43 ] rats. Our present findings are in agreement with previous reported studies, and further support the beneficial properties of bee bread against inflammation and fibrosis.…”

Sitagliptin Attenuates the Cognitive Deficits in L‐Methionine‐Induced Vascular Dementia in Rats

“…The endothelial changes in the aorta and increased IMT reflected atherosclerotic changes as postulated by previous study [ 55 ]. Moreover, Othman et al [ 56 ] clarified that thickening aortic wall and distorted elastic lamellae might be the factors that contributed to the impairment of the structural integrity of the aorta.…”

“…Hemanth Kumar et al [ 35 ] attributed this to the formation of S-nitroso-Hcy following the exposure of endothelial cells to Hcy with a subsequent decrease in the bioactivity of NO. Furthermore, previous studies attributed the vascular dysfunction to the increased lipid concentration besides the initiation of inflammatory processes [ 56 , 60 ]. The reported accumulated blood cells and perivascular adipose tissue deposition indicated the presence of active inflammation as clarified by previous study [ 61 ].…”

Bee Bread as a Promising Source of Bioactive Molecules and Functional Properties: An Up-To-Date Review

“…The first study conducted by Eleazu et al [ 30 ] revealed that the administration of bee bread in obese rats decreased the percentage change in body weight, BMI index, kidney weight, MDA concentrations, inflammatory cells in kidney tissue, NFkB, TNF-α, interleukin- l -beta, and Bax, while it increased the levels of SOD, GPx, GST, and TAA and reduced the Bowman’s capsule space in the urinary chambers of the kidneys. In the second study conducted by Othman et al [ 106 ], the administration of bee bread in obese male Sprague–Dawley rats improved their lipid profile, aortic inflammatory markers, and their impaired vasorelaxation activity, and showed its ability to enhance nitric oxide release and promote endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) immunoexpression. The same protocol forhigh-fat diet-induced obese rats was used by Suleiman et al [ 107 ] to examine the protective effect of bee bread at a dose of 0.5 g/kg once daily for 12 weeks on testicular oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, and lactate transport in the testes of obese rats ( Table 4 ).…”