Hibiscus ameliorates salt-induced carotid intima-media thickness in albino rats

Abstract

Objectives:The carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) is a known biomarker of clinical and subclinical cardiovascular events and evaluation of therapeutic action. Excessive salt directly causes changes in the common carotid intima and media layers and has been linked to hypertensive disease resulting to changes on vascular structure. Hibiscus sabdariffa is a traditional herbal drink with antihypertensive effects. The anatomical aspects of its effects however, are largely unknown. This study therefore, investigated the effects of hibiscus extract on CIMT in rats fed with a high-salt diet.Methods: Young albino rats (Rattus norvegicus) were divided into three groups: (A) high-salt diet alone, (B) high-salt diet and Hibiscus sabdariffa extract and (C) control group fed a normal diet for 8 weeks. Specimens from carotid arteries of rats were fixated and processed for paraffin embedding. Seven-micrometer thick sections were stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin stain and examined under light microscopy. Morphometric measurements were taken to determine the CIMT.Results: High-salt diet increased CIMT from 497.86 μm to 697.85 μm in 8 weeks. In Hibiscus sabdariffa extract fed rats, the CIMT decreased to 542.85 μm (p<0.05) by week 8. Conclusion:Hibiscus sabdariffa extract ameliorates salt-induced increase in CIMT in rats in a time-dependent manner. This implies that Hibiscus sabdariffa products may have therapeutic value in salt-induced vascular morbidity.

Cigarette Smoke Exposure, but Not High Fat Diet, is Able to Induce Atherosclerosis in Wild-Type Rats

“…3,4 While genetically-modified rats are not widely available and less affordable in the regular animal laboratory, the wild type (WT) rats are resistant to atherosclerosis due to their lipoprotein metabolism pathway. 5 Several methods of inducing atherosclerosis have been known, including the diet containing extremely high-fat, high-salt, highpurine, giving propylthiouracil drug, inducing of hypercortisolemia condition, or giving smoke exposure [6][7][8][9][10] . Anazawa et al found an increase in the intimal-media thickness (IMT) ratio of WT rats exposed to cigarette smoke.…”

THE EFFECT OF Hibiscus.Sabdariffa. L ON BLOOD PRESSURE AND ARTERIAL STIFFNESS IN HUMANS

“…Despite the availability of antihypertensive drugs in many countries in the world today, more than 50% of hypertensive individuals were unable to control their HBP (Muntner et al, 2018). Numerous studies have investigated the effect of HS extract/tea on reducing blood pressure both in humans and animals, while HS tea has also been reported to reduce arterial stiffness in animal and tissue models (GWALA, SİBUOR, Olabu, Pulei, & Julius, 2019). However, the effect of HS tea on arterial stiffness in humans is still unknown, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the impact of HS tea on arterial stiffness in healthy humans.…”