Background: Recently, attention has been focused on the cardiovascular protective effects of beet juice (BJ) with high amounts of nitrate. In this study, we examined the effect of BJ supplementation in a rat model of monocrotaline (MCT)-induced pulmonary hypertension (PH).
Methods: MCT (60 mg/kg) was subcutaneously administered to rats, and BJ (prepared by dissolving BJ powder at a concentration of 1 g/l or 10 g/l in drinking water) supplementation was started from the day of, 1 week before, and 2 weeks after MCT injection. Saline-injected rats given drinking water were used as controls.
Results: Low-dose BJ supplementation starting from the day of MCT injection exerted protective effects on the MCT-induced elevation of right ventricular systolic pressure, right ventricular hypertrophy, and pulmonary arterial remodeling, without causing a significant increase in plasma nitrite plus nitrate (NOx) levels. On the other hand, such beneficial effects were not observed with high-dose BJ supplementation, although the NOx levels were slightly higher than those in the low-dose group. In addition, low-dose BJ supplementation starting from 1 week before MCT injection did not improve PH symptoms, as described above. Furthermore, low-dose BJ supplementation starting from 2 weeks after MCT injection was ineffective against functional and morphological alterations in pulmonary circulation associated with MCT-induced PH.
Conclusions: Habitual ingestion of a suitable amount of BJ could be a potential option for preventing PH. However, beneficial effects cannot be expected when PH has developed to some degree.