Antihypertensive effects of onion on NO synthase inhibitor-induced hypertensive rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats.
This study was designed to show the effects of onion on blood pressure in N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) induced-hypertensive rats and stroke prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) using dried onion at 5% in their diets. For the experiment with L-NAME induced-hypertensive rats, male 6-weeks-old Sprague-Dawley rats were given tap water containing L-NAME to deliver 50 mg/kg BW/day. In this experiment, we found distinct antihypertensive effects of onion on the L-NAME induced-hypertensive rats and the SHRSP. Dietary onion decreased the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) in plasma in these hypertensive rats. Also, onion increased the nitrate/nitrite (products of nitric oxide (NO)) excreted in urine and the NO synthase (NOS) activity in the kidneys in SHRSP. These results suggested that the increased NO caused by the greater NOS activity, and additionally by the increased saving of NO by the antioxidative activity of onion, was one of the cause of the antihypertensive effect of onion in SHRSP. In the L-NAME induced hypertensive rats, onion did not significantly block the inhibition of NOS activity by L-NAME, and decreased nitrate/nitrite excretion in urine was not restored. The mechanism of the antihypertensive effect of onion probably involves increased saving of NO by antioxidative activity of onion in L-NAME induced-hypertensive rats.
Sakai
Yoko
Y
Graduate School of Human Life Science, Osaka City University, Sugimoto 3-3 138, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka 558-8585, Japan.
Murakami
Tetsuo
T
Yamamoto
Yukiko
Y
D000818:Animals; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D004032:Diet; D006973:Hypertension / Q000178:diet therapy*; D008297:Male; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000652:urine; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000378:metabolism*; D019697:Onions / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D011918:Rats, Inbred SHR; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances / Q000032:analysis
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester