Green Tea Consumption Lower Damage and Inflammatory Cytokines in Rat Cardiovascular System Under Androgenic Stimulation

Abstract

The abuse of anabolic androgenic steroids by youth and adolescents, athletes and non-athletes, is related to the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases. Contrastingly, green tea prevents and attenuates the cellular damage, improving the biochemical profile and reducing inflammation. This study aims to evaluate the benefits of consuming green tea to attenuate the inflammatory parameters and the cardiovascular damage, which are caused due to supraphysiological doses of testosterone, by analyzing the serological profile and the histoarchitecture of the heart and the arteries of 28 42-day-old male Wistar rats. Silicone pellets containing testosterone were surgically implanted and replaced every four weeks. After 20 weeks, all the male rats were anesthetized and their blood samples collected for serological analysis. Fragments of the aorta, left cardiac ventricle and penis were excised and processed to paraffin. To access morphometrical and stereological parameters, tissue fragments were stained and the images analyzed employing Image J software. The rats consuming green tea exhibited a reduction in aorta wall thickness (22%), luminal area (40%) and wall area (52%), with a lower number of elastic lamella. The dorsal artery of the penis presented with a higher wall area and lower luminal area in induced group compared to the other three groups. Tea consumption also led to a significant reduction in the left ventricle thickness with no increase in volumetric density of collagen fibers. Inflammatory cytokines were also shown to have increased in induced group, indicating cardiovascular risk due to their exposure to testosterone. Except for the endothelial vascular growth factor, this effect was not observed in the groups that consumed tea. It can be concluded that the consumption of green tea has a protective effect on the morphology of cardiovascular tissues and reduces inflammatory indicators, which points out this food as an agent capable of reducing cardiovascular disease risk factors related to high doses of anabolic androgenic steroids.