Protective effects of resveratrol improve cardiovascular function in rats with diabetes

Abstract

Abstract.Resveratrol is a flavonoid with a stilbene structure that is able to suppress acute pulmonary thromboembolism-induced pulmonary artery hypertension. Furthermore, it possesses anti-cancer and antioxidant properties, is able to regulate blood lipids and increase life expectancy. In the present study, it was evaluated whether the protective effect of resveratrol was able to improve cardiovascular function in rats with diabetes. The effects of resveratrol on blood glucose, body weight, heart/body weight ratio, plasma triglyceride levels, heart rate, aspartate transaminase (AST)/alanine transaminase (ALT) ratio and total plasma insulin were evaluated. Levels of inflammation and oxidative stress were also evaluated using ELISA kits, and the expressions of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and phosphorylated (p)-p38 protein were evaluated via western blot analysis. The results demonstrated that administration of resveratrol in rats with diabetes-related myocardial infarction (DRMI) significantly reduced blood glucose, body weight, plasma triglyceride levels, heart rate and AST/ALT ratio (all P<0.01) and significantly increased total plasma insulin (P<0.01). Furthermore, resveratrol significantly reduced levels of inflammation factors (P<0.01) and malondialdehyde, a marker for oxidative stress, in rats with DRMI (P<0.01). Resveratrol significantly increased the expression of eNOS (P<0.01) and suppressed the expression of VEGF and p-p38 (both P<0.01) in rats with DRMI. These results suggest that treatment with resveratrol is able to improve cardiovascular function via inhibition of eNOS and VEGF, and suppression of p38 phosphorylation in rats with DRMI.

Resveratrol: A Double-Edged Sword in Health Benefits

“…Resveratrol protective effect was shown to improve cardiovascular function in diabetic rats [ 73 , 74 ] by preserving the functional abilities of cardiac stem/progenitor cell compartments and mature cardiac cells, improved cardiac environment by reducing inflammatory state and decreased unfavorable ventricular remodeling of the diabetic heart, leading to a marked recovery of ventricular function [ 74 ]. Resveratrol showed beneficial effect in heart failure by improving left ventricle function, decreased cardiac hypertrophy, contractile dysfunction and remodeling, interstitial fibrosis, and the level of plasma BNP [ 75 ].…”

“…Some molecular mechanism of resveratrol action include inhibition of prohypertrophic signaling molecules, improvement of myocardial Ca 2+ handling, phosphorylation of prosurvival (Akt-1, GSK-3 β ) and stress signaling (MKP-1) pathways and the reduction of oxidative stress and inflammation (iNOS, COX-2 activity, and ROS formation) [ 75 ]. Yan et al suggest that resveratrol act by preventing the expressions of endothelial nitric oxide synthase, vascular endothelial growth factor, and suppressing phosphorylation of p38 in rats with diabetes-related myocardial infarction [ 73 ]. Besides, resveratrol administration in myocardial infarction-related diabetic rats significantly reduced blood glucose, body weight, plasma triglyceride levels, heart rate and aspartate transaminase (AST)/alanine transaminase (ALT) ratio, at same time that markedly increased total plasma insulin levels [ 73 , 76 ].…”

“…Yan et al suggest that resveratrol act by preventing the expressions of endothelial nitric oxide synthase, vascular endothelial growth factor, and suppressing phosphorylation of p38 in rats with diabetes-related myocardial infarction [ 73 ]. Besides, resveratrol administration in myocardial infarction-related diabetic rats significantly reduced blood glucose, body weight, plasma triglyceride levels, heart rate and aspartate transaminase (AST)/alanine transaminase (ALT) ratio, at same time that markedly increased total plasma insulin levels [ 73 , 76 ]. In addition, resveratrol significantly reduced inflammation factors and malondialdehyde levels, which is a marker of oxidative stress [ 77 ].…”

Quercetin, Epigallocatechin Gallate, Curcumin, and Resveratrol: From Dietary Sources to Human MicroRNA Modulation

“…Red wine and obviously grape are a source of resveratrol, a powerful antioxidant with benefits for muscle strength with anti-inflammatory effects [72,73]. Resveratrol is able to regulate metabolism [74], and it is useful in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases [75], diabetes [76], cardiovascular diseases [77][78][79], and cancer [80]. In humans, a dose of 450 mg per day is considered safe [81].…”

Change in the number of CD117+ stem cells, cytogenetic and cytokinetic parameters under the use of candesartan, candesartan cilexetil and resveratrol in vitro

“…At present stem cell technologies are widely applied for treatment of different pathologies and also cardiovascular diseases. It is shown that mobilized stem cells and endothelial progenitor cells have the capacity to migrate into the heart muscle and endothelium with the subsequent positive therapeutic effect [8][9][10].…”