Pineapple Juice Ameliorates the High Fat Diet-induced Alterations in Cardiac Gene Expression Pattern in Male Rats

Background: Obesity is a public health problem worldwide. It results from energy imbalance where energy intake exceeds energy expenditure. It’s associated with a variety of diseases including cardiovascular dysfunctions.

Aims: The current study aimed to evaluate the potential role of pineapple juice to ameliorate the high fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity and its associated cardiovascular dysfunction.

Study Design: Animals were divided into 2 groups: a control (n=6) group fed a regular diet and tap water, and HFD-fed (n=12) group that was fed HFD and tap water ad libitum for 10 weeks. After induction of obesity, HFD-fed group was subdivided into 2 groups each of six animals: Obese, non-treated group; gained free access to normal drinking water and HFD; pineapple group, given HFD and pineapple juice (15% in drinking water, vol /vol). The treatment was continued for 5 weeks. Animals’ body weight was recorded weekly throughout the experimental period.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Biotechnology, College of Science, Taif University, between May 2016 and September 2016.

Methodology: At the end of the experimental period, animals were sacrificed, serum was prepared and assayed for triacylglycerol, total cholesterol and nitric oxide (NO) levels, and cardiac tissues were collected for analysis of the possible alterations in cardiac gene expression pattern in HFD-induced obese male wistar rat using RT-PCR.

Results: Pineapple juice treatment significantly (P =0.05) reduced HFD-induced increases in body weight,serum triacylglycerol and cholesterol. It also inhibited the obesity-induced upregulation of ET-1(Endothelin-1), TNF-α, NFκβ, AT1 receptor (Angiotensin II receptor type 1), iNOS and ACE (Angiotensin Converting Enzyme) mRNA expression (P =0.05), while it reversed the obesity-induced decrease of eNOS mRNA expression and NO production (P =0.05). Thus, pineapple juice can ameliorate the obesity-induced alterations of cardiac gene pattern at transcriptional level.

Conclusion: Pineapple juice might be a candidate therapeutic approach for treating HFD-induced obesity and its associated cardiovascular dysfunctions.