Background and objectives Epidemiologic studies indicate that ingestion of vegetables and fruit inhibits the development of cardiovascular disease. Chlorogenic acids are abundant phenolic compounds contained in vegetables and fruits, but the impact of dietary chlorogenic acids on vascular function in hypertension is not known. We therefore examined the effects of 5-caffeoylquinic acid (CQA), a representative chlorogenic acid, on blood pressure and vascular function in age-matched normotensive Wistar–Kyoto rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats. Methods and results A single ingestion of CQA (30–600 mg/kg) reduced blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats, an effect that was blocked by administration of a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester. When spontaneously hypertensive rats were fed diets containing 0.5% CQA for 8 weeks (approximately 300 mg/kg per day), the development of hypertension was inhibited compared with the control diet group. CQA ingestion increased urinary excretion of nitric oxide metabolites and decreased urinary excretion of hydrogen peroxide; decreased NADPH-dependent superoxide anion production in the aorta, suggesting that dietary CQA inhibited vascular NADPH oxidase activity; significantly improved acetylcholine-induced endothelium-dependent vasodilation in the aorta; and markedly reduced the degree of immunohistochemical staining for nitrotyrosine and media hypertrophy in aorta sections. In contrast, CQA had no effects in Wistar–Kyoto rats. Conclusions Dietary CQA reduces oxidative stress and improves nitric oxide bioavailability by inhibiting excessive production of reactive oxygen species in the vasculature, and leads to the attenuation of endothelial dysfunction, vascular hypertrophy, and hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Ferulic acid (FA), a phytochemical constituent, has antihypertensive effects, but a detailed understanding of its effects on vascular function remains unclear. The vasoreactivity of FA was assessed using aortic rings isolated from normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). The effects of FA (10(-5) to 10(-3) mol/L) on vasodilatory responses were evaluated based on contractile responses induced by phenylephrine (10(-6) mol/L) in thoracic aortic rings from male WKY rats and SHR. Basal nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability in the aorta was determined from the contractile response induced by the NO synthase inhibitor N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 10(-4) mol/L). The effects of FA on the production of NADPH-dependent superoxide anion were examined in SHR aortas. The impact of hydroxyhydroquinone, a generator of superoxide anions, on the FA-induced enhancement in acetylcholine-stimulated vasodilation was also investigated. The FA (10(-3) mol/L)-induced relaxation was partially blocked by removal of the endothelium or by pretreating SHR aortas with L-NAME. FA increased NO bioavailability, and decreased NADPH-dependent superoxide anion levels in SHR aortas. Ferulic acid improved acetylcholine-induced endothelium-dependent vasodilation in SHR, but not in WKY. Furthermore, the simultaneous addition of hydroxyhydroquinone significantly inhibited the increase in acetylcholine-induced vasodilation by FA. Ferulic acid restores endothelial function through enhancing the bioavailability of basal and stimulated NO in SHR aortas. The results explain, in part, the mechanisms underlying the effects of FA on blood pressure (BP) in SHR.

Orally ingested hesperidin (HES) is hydrolyzed into hesperetin in the gastrointestinal tract and conjugated during absorption. Hesperetin conjugates are the main circulating metabolites in human and rat plasma. We previously reported that glucosyl hesperidin (GHES), a water-soluble HES derivative, prevents hypertension via improvement of endothelial dysfunction in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Although these hesperetin conjugates seem to be responsible for hypotensive and endothelium-dependent vasodilatory activities of dietary GHES, little is known about the mechanisms of action of these conjugated metabolites. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of hesperetin-7-O-β-D-glucuronide (HPT7G) and hesperetin-3′-O-β-D-glucuronide (HPT3′G), which are the predominant HES metabolites in rat plasma, on blood pressure and endothelial function. Intravenous administration of HPT7G (5 mg kg⁻¹) decreased blood pressure in anesthetized SHRs. HPT7G enhanced endothelium-dependent vasodilation in response to acetylcholine, but had no effect on endothelium-independent vasodilation in response to sodium nitroprusside (SNP) in aortas isolated from SHRs. HPT7G decreased hydrogen peroxide-induced intracellular adhesion molecule-1 and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 mRNA expression in rat aortic endothelial cells. In contrast, HPT3′G had little effect on these parameters. In conclusion, HPT7G exerted hypotensive, vasodilatory and anti-inflammatory activities, similar to hesperetin and these effects are associated, in part, with the activity of GHES and HES to improve hypertension and endothelial dysfunction.

Induction of the inflammasome protein cryopyrin (NLRP3) in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) promotes release of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1β in obesity. Although this mechanism contributes to peripheral metabolic dysfunction, effects on the brain remain unexplored. We investigated whether visceral adipose NLRP3 impairs cognition by activating microglial IL-1 receptor 1 (IL-1R1). After observing protection against obesity-induced neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment in NLRP3-KO mice, we transplanted VAT from obese WT or NLRP3-KO donors into lean recipient mice. Transplantation of VAT from a WT donor (TRANS_WT) increased hippocampal IL-1β and impaired cognition, but VAT transplants from comparably obese NLRP3-KO donors (TRANS_KO) had no effect. Visceral adipose NLRP3 was required for deficits in long-term potentiation (LTP) in transplant recipients, and LTP impairment in TRANS_WT mice was IL-1 dependent. Flow cytometric and gene expression analyses revealed that VAT transplantation recapitulated the effects of obesity on microglial activation and IL-1β gene expression, and visualization of hippocampal microglia revealed similar effects in vivo. Inducible ablation of IL-1R1 in CX3CR1-expressing cells eliminated cognitive impairment in mice with dietary obesity and in transplant recipients and restored immunoquiescence in hippocampal microglia. These results indicate that visceral adipose NLRP3 impairs memory via IL-1–mediated microglial activation and suggest that NLRP3/IL-1β signaling may underlie correlations between visceral adiposity and cognitive impairment in humans.

Glucosyl hesperidin (G-hesperidin) is a water-soluble derivative of hesperidin. In the present study, the short-term effects of G-hesperidin and hesperetin, a putative metabolite of G-hesperidin, in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and in normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) were investigated. Single oral administration of G-hesperidin (10 to 50 mg/kg) induced a dose-dependent reduction in systolic blood pressure (SBP) in SHR, but had no effects in WKY. Intraperitoneal injection of hesperetin (50 mg/kg) into SHR also caused a significant reduction in SBP. The depressor effect was significantly inhibited by a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester. Moreover, hesperetin (10−5 M) enhanced endothelium-dependent relaxation induced by acetylcholine, but had no effect on endothelium-independent relaxation induced by sodium nitroprusside in isolated aortas from SHR. These data suggest that the hypotensive effect of hesperetin in SHR is associated with nitric oxide-mediated vasodilation. Therefore, this effect may be involved in the mechanisms by which G-hesperidin lowers blood pressure in hypertension.