Blood pressure profile and insulin resistance in salt-induced hypertensive rats treated with camel milk

Camel milk protein hydrosylate alleviates hepatic steatosis and hypertension in high fructose-fed rats

CONTEXT

Camel milk is used in traditional medicine to treat diabetes mellitus hypertension and other metabolic disorders.

OBJECTIVE

This study evaluated the antisteatotic and antihypertensive effects of camel milk protein hydrolysate (CMH) in high fructose (HF)-fed rats and compared it with the effects afforded by the intact camel milk protein extract (ICM).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Adult male Wistar rats were divided into 6 groups (n = 8 each) as 1) control, 2) ICM (1000 mg/kg), 3) CMH (1000 mg/kg), 4) HF (15% in drinking water), 5) HF (15%) + ICM (1000 mg/kg), and 6) HF (15%) + CMH (1000 mg/kg). All treatments were given orally for 21 weeks, daily.

RESULTS

Both ICM and CMH reduced fasting glucose and insulin levels, serum and hepatic levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, and serum levels of ALT and AST, angiotensin II, ACE, endothelin-1, and uric acid in HF-fed rats. In addition, both ICM and CMH reduced hepatic fat deposition in the hepatocytes and reduced hepatocyte damage. This was associated with an increase in the hepatic activity of AMPK, higher PPARα mRNA, reduced expression of fructokinase C, SREBP1, SREBP2, fatty acid synthase, and HMG-CoA-reductase. Both treatments lowered systolic and diastolic blood pressure. However, the effects of CMH on all these parameters were greater as compared to ICM.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this study encourage the use of CMH in a large-scale population and clinical studies to treat metabolic steatosis and hypertension.

Diet-induced insulin resistance altered cardiac GLUT4 and FATP/CD36 expression in rats

Background

Altered substrate transport protein expression is central to the effect of insulin resistance on cardiac metabolism. The present study was thus designed to investigate the comparative effects of high fat, high sucrose and salt-induced IR on cardiac expression of fatty acid transporter (FATP) and glucose transporter (GLUT4) in rats.

Results

Rats fed with high fat, high sucrose and salt diets developed impaired glucose tolerance (p > 0.05) and hyperinsulinemia (p < 0.05) compared with control group. Myocardial glucose transporter expression was significantly increased (p < 0.001 for salt-induced IR; p < 0.01 for sucrose-induced IR; p < 0.01 for fat-induced IR) across all IR groups compared with control. Fatty acid transporter expression was also increased (p < 0.001) in high salt diet-induced IR rats, and high fat diet-induced IR rats (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

Our results demonstrate that salt and not caloric excess has a potential role in IR alteration of myocardial substrate transport protein expression in the rat.