Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health, Nutrition and Dietetics, Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
2
Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
Impact of Brazil Nut (Bertholletia excelsa, H.B.K.) Supplementation on Body Composition, Blood Pressure, and the Vascular Reactivity of Wistar Rats When Submitted to a Hypersodium Diet Henrique Saldanha Melo, Juliana Arruda de Souza Monnerat, Nathalia da Silva Costa, Thais Bento Bernardes, D’Angelo Carlo Magliano, Aline D'Avila Pereira, Patricia Pereira Almeida, Gabriel Ferreira Lima, Fernanda Carla Ferreira de Brito, Milena Barcza Stockler Pinto, Raquel Kindlovits, Anna Beatriz Nogueira, Vinicius Sepúlveda-Fragoso, Antonio Claudio Lucas da Nóbrega, Nadia Alice Vieira da Motta, Renata Frauches Medeiros Journal of the American Nutrition Association, 2022 Introdution: Endothelium integrity is a key that maintains vascular homeostasis but it can suffer irreversible damage by blood pressure changes, reflecting an imbalance in the maintenance of vascular homeostasis.Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa, H.B.K.) (BN) supplementation (10% in chow, wt/wt) on the vascular reactivity of Wistar rats during chronic exposure to a sodium overload (1% in water).Methods: First, male Wistar rats were allocated into two groups: Control Group (CG) and the Hypersodic Group (HG) for 4 weeks. Afterward, the CG was divided into the Brazil Nut Group (BNG) and the HG Group into the Hypersodic Brazil Nut Group (HBNG) for a further 8 weeks, totaling 4 groups. Blood pressure was measured during the protocol. At the end of the protocol, the vascular reactivity procedure was performed. Glucose, lipid profile, lipid peroxidation, and platelet aggregation were analyzed in the serum. Body composition was determined by the carcass technique.Results: The groups that were supplemented with the BN chow presented less body mass gain and body fat mass, together with lower serum glucose levels. The HG Group presented an increase in blood pressure and a higher platelet aggregation, while the BN supplementation was able to blunt this effect. The HG Group also showed an increase in contractile response that was phenylephrine-induced and a decrease in maximum relaxation that was acetylcholine-induced when compared to the other groups.Conclusion: The BN supplementation was able to prevent an impaired vascular function in the early stages of arterial hypertension, while also improving body composition, serum glucose, and platelet aggregation.
Brain development in male rats subjected to early weaning and treated with diet containing flour or flaxseed oil after 21 days until 60 days C. R. Pessanha, B. Ferolla da Camara Boueri, L. Rodrigues da Costa, M. Rocha Ferreira, H. Saldanha Melo, M. Duque Coutinho de Abreu, L. Rozeno Pessoa, P. C. Alves da Silva, A. D’Avila Pereira, D. Cavalcante Ribeiro, J. Azevedo de Meneses, C. A. Soares da Costa, G. T. Boaventura Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, 2015 The precocious interruption of lactation is a prime factor for developmental plasticity. Here we analyzed whether flour or flaxseed oil treatment contributes to body and brain mass in male rats subjected to early weaning. Pups were weaned for separation from their mother at 14 (early weaning, EW) and 21 days (control, C). At 21 days, some of the pups were evaluated (C21 v. EW21). After 21 days, control pups (C60) were fed a control diet. EW pups were divided into those fed a control diet (EWC60), those given flaxseed flour (EWFF60), and those given flaxseed oil (EWFO60) until 60 days. EW21 showed lower body and absolute brain mass and higher relative brain mass. At 60 days, EWC60 and EWFO60 had lower body mass. With regard to relative brain mass, EWC60 was heavier; EWFO60 had lower values compared with EWC60 and higher values compared with C60 and EWFF60. These results indicated that flaxseed flour, in comparison with flaxseed oil, contributes to brain development after EW.
