TITLE:
Proanthocyanidins-Rich Euterpe oleracea Mart Seed Extract Prevents Vascular and Perivascular Adipose Tissue Remodeling by Regulating the Renin-Angiotensin System, Inflammation, and Oxidative Damage in Diet-Induced Obese Mice
AUTHORS:
Matheus Henrique Romão, Graziele Freitas de Bem, Amanda Faria de Medeiros, Izabelle Barcellos Santos, Dafne Lopes Bessera Silva, Ricardo de Andrade Soares, Beatriz Cardoso de Oliveira, Dayane Teixeira Ognibene, Cristiane Aguiar da Costa, Ângela Castro Resende
KEYWORDS:
Açaí, Proanthocyanidins, Obesity, Vascular Remodeling, Perivascular Adipose Tissue
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.16 No.9,
September
17,
2025
ABSTRACT: Ectopic excessive fat deposition, including the perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT), may negatively influence vascular homeostasis and has emerged as a target for treating obesity-related vascular disease. The açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart) seed extract (ASE) has beneficial metabolic effects, which could reduce the risk of obesity-related vascular disease. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the impact of treatment with ASE on aorta remodeling and hypertension and evaluate its underlying mechanisms in a mouse model of obesity induced by a high-fat (HF) diet. Male C57BL/6 mice were divided into the groups: Control, HF, and HF + ASE (300 mg/kg/day for 12 weeks). We evaluated the systolic and diastolic blood pressure, PVAT, and aorta morphology and fibrosis parameters. Renin-angiotensin system (RAS) proteins, oxidative stress, and inflammatory biomarkers were evaluated in the aorta and PVAT by Western blotting and/or immunohistochemistry. ASE impaired weight gain, hypertension, PVAT hypertrophy and aorta morphological changes (media thickness, media-to-lumen ratio, and circumferential wall tension). ASE prevented the fibrosis by mitigating the increased deposition of type I collagen and TGF-β. The increased RAS components in the aorta (renin, AT1R) and PVAT (AT1R), as well as the decreased ACE2/ACE (aorta) and AT2R (PVAT), were prevented by ASE. The overexpression of oxidative damage markers (NOX4 and 8-isoprostane) and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α, and MCP-1) was impaired by ASE. The study indicates that ASE protects HF-fed mice from hypertension, PVAT and vascular wall remodeling by regulating PVAT and aortic RAS, as well as oxidative stress and inflammation.