Rutin treatment alleviates obesity-related aortic endothelium dysfunction in albino rats fed a high-fat diet

Abstract

Flavonoids have recently been shown to be useful to people suffering from vascular disorders caused by a high-fat diet (HFD). The flavonoid rutin (RT) exhibits numerous pharmacological effects, including antioxidant, cytoprotective, vasoprotective, and cardioprotective activities. The primary objective of this research was to assess the efficacy of RT against obesity-related vascular endothelial dysfunction (VED) in rats fed HFD. A total of 24 mature Wistar rats were blindly categorized into 4 treatment and control groups: normal control, obese control, and obese which were given RT at 50 and 100 mg/kg for the final 3 weeks of the experimental period. Animals' body mass and food consumption have been estimated periodically. In addition, liver mass and retroperitoneal fat mass per body mass, abdominal circumference (AC), LEE index, and body mass index (BMI) were estimated. Moreover, lipid profile parameters were assessed in serum. The effect on vascular endothelium reactivity was investigated in an isolated rat aorta. A histopathological investigation of the aorta was performed. The obese control group exhibited higher body, liver, and retroperitoneal fat weights. Significantly, RT intake reverses all these alterations. Furthermore, RT decreased food intake, AC, Lee index, and BMI in HFD-fed rats. The lipid profile of HFD-fed rats was also improved after RT treatment, with lower triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL-C, and VLDL-C levels and higher HDL-C levels in the serum of HFD-fed rats. Through the ex-vivo investigation, RT groups showed improved vascular endothelium function in HFD-fed animals compared to the obese control group. Taking together, RT could be a promising option for preventing obesity-associated VED.