Grape pomace reduced reperfusion arrhythmias in rats with a high-fat-fructose diet

PERDICARO, DIAHANN JEANETTE; RODRIGUEZ LANZI, CECILIA; FONTANA, ARIEL RAMÓN; ANTONIOLLI, ANDREA; PICCOLI, PATRICIA; MIATELLO, R M; DIEZ, EMILIANO RAUL; VAZQUEZ PRIETO, MARCELA ALEJANDRA

Food Funct.

Royal Society of Chemistry

Año: 2017 vol. 8 p. 3501 - 3509

2042-6496

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a risk factor of sudden cardiac death in humans but, animal models for the study of this association are needed. Grape pomace (GP), obtained from winemaking process, contains phenolic compounds with potential cardioprotective effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate if a high-fat-fructose (HFF) diet facilitates the occurrence of arrhythmias during the reperfusion, and if a GP supplementation could counteracts this effects. Wistar rats were fed with control (Ctrl), HFF diet and HFF plus GP (1g/Kg/day) during six weeks. HFF diet induces characteristic features of MetS (higher systolic blood pressure, dyslipidemia and insulin resistance) which was attenuated by GP supplementation. In addition, HFF induced increased reperfusion arrhythmias that were reduced upon GP supplementation. GP also reduced the non-phosphorylated form of connexin-43 (Cx43) while enhances heart p-AKT and p-eNOS protein levels and reduces Nox4 levels enhanced by a HFF diet, indicating that GP may increase NO bioavailability in heart. We found a murine model of MetS with increased arrhythmogenesis and translational value. Furthermore, GP prevents diet-induced heart dysfunction and metabolic alterations. These results highlight the potential utilization of winemaking by-products containing important amount of bioactive compounds to prevent/attenuate MetS-associated cardiovascular pathologies.