Restriction of dietary sodium may enhance nitric oxide production in rats.
To clarify the precise relationship between sodium and nitric oxide (NO), we studied the effects of altered sodium intake on NO production. Male Wistar rats were maintained on a low-sodium (0.2% NaCl), normal-sodium (2% NaCl), or high-sodium (8% NaCl) diet for 10 days or 8 weeks; 24-h urine was collected at those times for assay of nitrate ion (NO3-), a stable metabolite of NO, and of cyclic GMP. Urinary excretion of NO3- and cyclic GMP was increased on the 10th day in the low-sodium group, as compared with the normal- and high-sodium groups. The urinary excretion of cyclic GMP was increased at the 8th week, and NO3- showed a tendency to increase in the low-sodium group, as compared with the high-sodium group. An up-regulation of NO production may explain, at least in part, the antihypertensive effect of sodium restriction.
Nishimura
M
M
Department of Clinical and Laboratory Medicine, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Japan.
Takahashi
H
H
Nanbu
A
A
Ohtsuka
K
K
Yoshimura
M
M
D000818:Animals; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin / Q000652:urine; D006152:Cyclic GMP / Q000652:urine; D004039:Diet, Sodium-Restricted; D008297:Male; D009566:Nitrates / Q000652:urine; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000652:urine; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012083:Renin / Q000097:blood; D012982:Sodium, Dietary / Q000494:pharmacology*
D009566:Nitrates; D012982:Sodium, Dietary; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D012083:Renin; D006152:Cyclic GMP; D009638:Norepinephrine