title: (-)-Epicatechin Prevents Blood Pressure Increase and Reduces Locomotor Hyperactivity in Young Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats.
abstract: This study investigated the effects of subchronic (-)-epicatechin (Epi) treatment on locomotor activity and hypertension development in young spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Epi was administered in drinking water (100 mg/kg/day) for 2 weeks. Epi significantly prevented the development of hypertension (138 ± 2 versus 169 ± 5 mmHg,p< 0.001) and reduced total distance traveled in the open-field test (22 ± 2 versus 35 ± 4 m,p< 0.01). In blood, Epi significantly enhanced erythrocyte deformability, increased total antioxidant capacity, and decreased nitrotyrosine concentration. In the aorta, Epi significantly increased nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS) activity and elevated the NO-dependent vasorelaxation. In the left heart ventricle, Epi increased NOS activity without altering gene expressions of nNOS, iNOS, and eNOS. Moreover, Epi reduced superoxide production in the left heart ventricle and the aorta. In the brain, Epi increased nNOS gene expression (in the brainstem and cerebellum) and eNOS expression (in the cerebellum) but had no effect on overall NOS activity. In conclusion, Epi prevented the development of hypertension and reduced locomotor hyperactivity in young SHR. These effects resulted from improved cardiovascular NO bioavailability concurrently with increased erythrocyte deformability, without changes in NO production in the brain.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, Centre of Excellence for Examination of Regulatory Role of Nitric Oxide in Civilization Diseases, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: M
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1568-7397
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kluknavsky
authors.affiliation: Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, Centre of Excellence for Examination of Regulatory Role of Nitric Oxide in Civilization Diseases, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: P
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9835-2941
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Balis
authors.affiliation: Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, Centre of Excellence for Examination of Regulatory Role of Nitric Oxide in Civilization Diseases, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: A
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7282-6547
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Puzserova
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia; Institute for Heart Research, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: J
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6703-5863
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Radosinska
authors.affiliation: Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, Centre of Excellence for Examination of Regulatory Role of Nitric Oxide in Civilization Diseases, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berenyiova
authors.affiliation: Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, Centre of Excellence for Examination of Regulatory Role of Nitric Oxide in Civilization Diseases, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Drobna
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Physics, Biophysics, Informatics and Telemedicine, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lukac
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Chemistry, Biochemistry and Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: J
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7419-6913
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Muchova
authors.affiliation: Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, Centre of Excellence for Examination of Regulatory Role of Nitric Oxide in Civilization Diseases, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: I
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6120-706X
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bernatova
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D002392:Catechin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004907:Erythrocyte Deformability / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects*; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000378:metabolism; D011918:Rats, Inbred SHR; D013481:Superoxides / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D013481:Superoxides; D002392:Catechin; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase