Antihypertensive Potential of Tartaric Acid and Exploration of Underlying Mechanistic Pathways

Abstract

Tartaric acid is capable of balancing blood pressure. It is the main constituent of antihypertensive agents (grapes and wine) and has not been scientifically explored as an antihypertensive remedy. This study aimed to investigate the antihypertensive effect of a low-dose tartaric acid in vivo and explore underlying mechanisms in vitro. Intravenous administration of tartaric acid at the dose of 50 µg/kg caused a % fall in mean arterial pressure (MAP) in normotensive and hypertensive rats [51.5 ± 1.7 and 63.5 ± 2.9% mmHg]. This hypotensive effect was partially inhibited by atropine (1 mg/kg) and L-NAME (100 µg/kg) pretreatment. In hypertensive rats, oral administration of tartaric acid (.1, .5, 1, 5, and 10 mg/kg) for 2 weeks resulted in 65 ± 7.3 mmHg MAP at 10 mg/kg. This antihypertensive effect was comparable to the orally administered verapamil (10 mg/kg) for 2 weeks which caused a decrease in MAP 60.4 ± 3.8 mmHg. Tartaric acid relaxed phenylephrine (PE) and High K+-induced contractions with EC50 values of .157 (.043-.2) and 1.93 (.07-2) µg/mL in vitro. This endothelium-dependent relaxation was inhibited with atropine (1 µM) and L-NAME (10 µM) pretreatment. Tartaric acid also suppressed phenylephrine contractions in Ca+2 free/EGTA medium and on voltage-dependent calcium channels, causing the concentration–response curves toward right. Tartaric acid induced negative inotropic and chronotropic effects with EC50 values of .26 (.14-.4) and .60 (.2-.8) in rat atria. It showed its effect by complete blockade against atropine and partially in propranolol pretreatment. These findings provide scientific basis to low-dose tartaric acid as an antihypertensive and vasodilatory remedy through muscarinic receptor-linked nitric oxide (NO) pathway and Ca+2 channel antagonist.

Pitavastatin and Lovastatin Exhibit Calcium Channel Blocking Activity Which Potentiate Vasorelaxant Effects of Amlodipine: A New Futuristic Dimension in Statin’s Pleiotropy

“…Possible effects on KCL-induced contractions were noted as per our reported protocols [15,16,18]. Mean effective concentration (EC 50 ) for Pitavastatin, lovastatin, and Amlodipine were noted [14,19,20].…”

“…Pitavastatin, lovastatin and amlodipine were applied in cumulative manner (10 −8 to 10 −2 M) as described above. Effects on the tissues were noted as per reported protocols [15,16,20,21]. Mean effective concentrations (EC 50 ) were calculated for Pitavastatin, Lovastatin, and amlodipine.…”

“…Again, in test concentrations of verapamil CCRCs were constructed after an incubation period of 1 h. Their EC 50 were calculated and possible shift in EC 50 were recorded. The experiments were repeated 4 times as per our reported procedures [14,15,[20][21][22].…”

Polyphenol-rich black currant and cornelian cherry juices ameliorate metabolic syndrome induced by a high-fat high-fructose diet in Wistar rats

“…As shown previously, both excess fats and fructose in the diet lead to an increase in blood pressure via several mechanisms including increased salt retention, endothelial dysfunction, and overstimulation of the sympathetic nervous system [ 53 , 54 ]. On the contrary, some constituents previously identified in BC and CC juices, such as tartaric acid, malic acid, gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, and epigallocatechin [ 26 ] are known for their antihypertensive effects [ 55 ]. However, it is possible that the concentration in commercial juices used in our study was not sufficient to produce the same effects.…”

Quality and Functional Characterization of Acetic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Farm-Produced Fruit Vinegars

“…Some of the beneficial effects of acetic acid produced by fermentation have been attributed to ACE inhibition. Acetic acid is a carboxylic acid, and some carboxylic acids, including citric, docosahexaenoic, and tartaric acid, are known for antihypertensive activity [41][42][43][44]. The ACE2 receptor is a high-affinity receptor for the viral spike protein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) [45,46].…”