Effects of an ethanolic extract of mulberry fruit on blood pressure and vascular remodeling in spontaneous hypertensive rats

Abstract

Mulberry (Morus alba) has been used in traditional oriental medicine since ages. Recently, it has been reported that mulberry produces hypotensive effects through the eNOS signaling pathway. However, the mechanism underlying the hypotensive effects of mulberry is not entirely clear. Moreover, the effects of mulberry on vascular remodeling events such as hyperplasia, an important etiology in the pathogenesis of hypertension and arteriosclerosis, are also ambiguous. Here, we hypothesized that an ethanolic extract of mulberry fruit (EMF) has beneficial effects on vascular remodeling and produces hypotensive effects. The effects of a 6-week oral administration of EMF were examined in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). The animals were divided into four groups: normotensive control (Wistar Kyoto rats), non-treated SHR, low-dose (100 mg/kg) EMF-treated SHR, and high-dose (300 mg/kg) EMF-treated SHR. Our results showed that the EMF-diet normalizes hypertension in SHRs in a dose-dependent manner, by preventing smooth muscle proliferation, thickening of the tunica media, and vascular hyper-reactivity. The endothelial functions were not substantially affected by the EMF diet in our experimental setting. In conclusion, we suggest that the mulberry fruit could act as a food supplement for reducing blood pressure in hypertensive subjects through its effects on smooth muscle proliferation and vascular contractility.

Lagerstroemia speciosa Ameliorated Blood Pressure in LNAME Induced Hypertension in Experimental Rats through NO/cGMP and Oxidative Stress Modulation

“…Endothelial dysfunction (ED) is delineated by reduced NO production in the aorta, which is linked to lowered eNOS [ 28 ]. The activity of p-eNOS has been observed to be ameliorated in the LNAME group rats aorta [ 29 ].…”

Contribution of Extracellular Particles Isolated from Morus sp. (Mulberry) Fruit to Their Reported Protective Health Benefits: An In Vitro Study

“…Extracts of mulberry fruit have been shown to be protective against vascular remodelling in animal models of hypertension [ 26 ] and to have antiangiogenic effects in human endothelial cells in vitro [ 27 ]. We, therefore, determined whether mulberry EVs could modulate both migration and proliferation of HMEC-1 endothelial cells.…”

Phytochemical characterization ofMorus nigrafruit ultrasound‐assisted ethanolic extract for its cardioprotective potential

“…Accordingly, a marked decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate in isolated rat aorta due to verapamil (Simonovic et al, 2019). Besides, mulberry fruit exhibited dose‐dependent hypotensive activity by preventing the tunica media thickening, smooth muscle proliferation, and vasculature hyper‐reactivity (Park et al, 2019). Similarly, in the present investigation, mulberry fruit also had a considerable blood pressure‐lowering effect.…”

“…Other hypotensive effects are reduction in vascular hypertrophy, smooth muscle cells proliferation, and arterial pressure via enhancing endothelial nitric oxide (NO) production (Lee, Jung, et al, 2019;Park et al, 2019). Therefore, the present work is aimed to identify and quantify the phytochemicals in M. nigra fruit extract via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and HPLC analysis.…”

“…The vasodilatory effects are suppression of angiotensin 1 induced contraction, calcium influx inhibition, activation of hydrogen receptors, and thromboxane A2 receptors (Pothinuch et al, 2017). Other hypotensive effects are reduction in vascular hypertrophy, smooth muscle cells proliferation, and arterial pressure via enhancing endothelial nitric oxide (NO) production (Lee, Jung, et al, 2019; Park et al, 2019). Therefore, the present work is aimed to identify and quantify the phytochemicals in M. nigra fruit extract via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and HPLC analysis.…”