Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Winter;15(Suppl):83-91.

The Effect of Protocatechuic Acid on Blood Pressure and Oxidative Stress in Glucocorticoid-induced Hypertension in Rat

Leila Safaeian  1 , Valiollah Hajhashemi  1 , Shaghayegh Haghjoo Javanmard  2 , Hamed Sanaye Naderi  1
Affiliations

The Effect of Protocatechuic Acid on Blood Pressure and Oxidative Stress in Glucocorticoid-induced Hypertension in Rat

Leila Safaeian et al. Iran J Pharm Res. 2016 Winter.

Abstract

Oxidative stress is one of the important mechanisms involved in Dexamethasone (Dex)-induced hypertension. Protocatechuic acid (PCA) is a natural compound with high antioxidant capacity. In this investigation, the effect of pretreatment with PCA was studied in Dex-induced hypertensive male Wistar rats. For induction of hypertension, Dex was injected subcutaneously for 14 days. PCA (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) was started from 4 days before Dex administration and continued during the test period. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was recorded using tail-cuff method. Measurement of thymus weight was done as a marker of glucocorticoid activity. The hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentration and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) were determined in plasma samples. Significant increase in SBP and plasma H2O2 concentration and decrease in FRAP value and in the body and thymus weights were observed in Dex-induced hypertensive rats. PCA dose-dependently prevented hypertension and body weight loss, and reduced plasma H2O2 concentration and increased FRAP values. These results suggest the antihypertensive and antioxidant effects of PCA against Dex-induced hypertension.

Keywords: Antioxidants; Dexamethasone; Hypertension; Protocatechuic acid.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effects of pretreatment with PCA (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg), captopril (40 mg/kg) and vitamin C (750 mg/kg) on systolic blood pressure in Dex-induced hypertension. Values are means + SEM for six rats. **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 as compared to Dex control group. ##P < 0.01 and ###P < 0.001 as compared to saline control group
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Effects of pretreatment with PCA (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg), captopril (40 mg/kg) and vitamin C (750 mg/kg) on body weight in Dex-induced hypertension. Values are means + SEM for six rats. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 and ***P < 0.001 as compared to Dex control group. #P < 0.05, ##P < 0.01 and ###P < 0.001 as compared to saline control group
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effects of pretreatment with PCA (200 mg/kg), captopril (40 mg/kg) and vitamin C (750 mg/kg) on thymus weight in Dex-induced hypertension. Values are means for six rats. P < 0.05 is considered to be statistically significant versus Dex control group
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effects of pretreatment with PCA (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg), captopril (40 mg/kg) and vitamin C (750 mg/kg) on plasma H2O2 concentration in Dex-induced hypertension. Values are means + SEM for six rats. ***P < 0.001 as compared to Dex control group. #P < 0.05 and ###P < 0.001 as compared to saline control group
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effects of pretreatment with PCA (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg), captopril (40 mg/kg) and vitamin C (750 mg/kg) on plasma FRAP value in Dex-induced hypertension. Values are means + SEM for six rats. **P < 0.01 and ***P < 0.001 as compared to Dex control group. ##P < 0.01 as compared to saline control group
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Feng XL, Pang M, Beard J. Health system strengthening and hypertension awareness, treatment and control: data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Bull. World Health Organ. 2014;92:29–41. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wang S, Xu L, Jonas JB, Wong TY, Cui T, Li Y, Wang YX, You QS, Yang H, Sun C. Major eye diseases and risk factors associated with systemic hypertension in an adult Chinese population: the Beijing Eye Study. Ophthalmology. 2009;116:2373–80. - PubMed
    1. Maki KC, Rains TM, Schild AL, Dicklin MR, Park KM, Lawless AL, Kelley KM. Effects of low-fat dairy intake on blood pressure, endothelial function, and lipoprotein lipids in subjects with prehypertension or stage 1 hypertension. Vasc. Health Risk Manag. 2013;9:369–79. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Meshram II, Arlappa N, Balkrishna N, Rao KM, Laxmaiah A, Brahmam GN. Prevalence of hypertension, its correlates and awareness among adult tribal population of Kerala state, India. J. Postgrad. Med. 2012;58:255–61. - PubMed
    1. Safaeian L, Ghasemi-Dehkordi N, Javanmard SH, Namvar H. Antihypertensive and antioxidant effects of a hydroalcoholic extract obtained from aerial parts of Otostegia persica. (Burm) Boiss. Res. Pharm. Sci. 2015;10:192–9. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources