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

PERDICARO, DIAHANN J.; RODRIGUEZ LANZI, CECILIA; FONTANA, ARIEL R.; ANTONIOLLI, ANDREA; PICCOLI, PATRICIA N.; MIATELLO, ROBERTO M.; DIEZ, EMILIANO R.; VAZQUEZ PRIETO, MARCELA A.

Food & Function

Royal Society of Chemistry

Año: 2017 vol. 8 p. 3501 - 3509

2042-6496

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a risk factor for sudden cardiac death in humans, but animal models areneeded for the study of this association. Grape pomace (GP), obtained from the winemaking process,contains phenolic compounds with potential cardioprotective effects. The aim of this study was to evaluateif a high-fat-fructose (HFF) diet facilitates the occurrence of arrhythmias during the reperfusion, and if a GPsupplementation could counteract these effects. Wistar rats were fed with control (Ctrl), HFF diet and HFFplus GP (1 g kg−1 day−1) for six weeks. The HFF diet induces characteristic features of MetS (higher systolicblood pressure, dyslipidemia and insulin resistance) which was attenuated by GP supplementation. Inaddition, HFF induced increased reperfusion arrhythmias that were reduced upon GP supplementation. GPalso reduced the non-phosphorylated form of connexin-43 (Cx43) while enhancing heart p-AKT andp-eNOS protein levels and reducing Nox4 levels enhanced by the HFF diet, indicating that GP may increaseNO bioavailability in the heart. We found a murine model of MetS with increased arrhythmogenesis andtranslational value. Furthermore, GP prevents diet-induced heart dysfunction and metabolic alterations.These results highlight the potential utilization of winemaking by-products containing significant amountsof bioactive compounds to prevent/attenuate MetS-associated cardiovascular pathologies