Effect of A-HRS on blood pressure and metabolic alterations in fructose-induced hypertensive rats.

Fructose feeding induces a rise in blood pressure in normal rats that is associated with insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, hyperglycaemia, hypercholesterolaemia and hypertriglyceridaemia. We have examined the effect of chronic administration of A-HRS (100 and 300 mg kg⁻¹; p.o.) isolated from Hibiscus rosa sinensis (Malvaceae) on systolic blood pressure (SBP), vascular reactivity, serum glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, uric acid and insulin in fructose-induced hypertension model. A-HRS treatment (100 and 300 mg kg⁻¹, p.o. for 6 weeks) reduced SBP, vascular reactivity changes to catecholamines and reversed the metabolic alterations induced by fructose (10%) treatment for 6 weeks. The cumulative concentration response curve (CCRC) of angiotensin II (Ang II) was shifted towards the right in rats treated with A-HRS using an isolated strip of ascending colon. The results suggest that A-HRS could prevent the development of high-blood pressure induced by a diet rich in fructose, probably by reversing the metabolic alterations induced by fructose. In conclusion, A-HRS has an antihypertensive action in a fructose model.