Royal jelly increases peripheral circulation by inducing vasorelaxation through nitric oxide production under healthy conditions

Publication date: October 2018Source: Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, Volume 106Author(s): Yaoyue Liang, Satomi Kagota, Kana Maruyama, Yuri Oonishi, Shino Miyauchi-Wakuda, Yoshihiko Ito, Shizuo Yamada, Kazumasa ShinozukaAbstractAimsRoyal jelly (RJ) has a variety of reported biological activities, including vasorelaxation and blood pressure–lowering effects. Although functional foods are positively used for health, the effects of RJ on the cardiovascular system in healthy individuals have not been well studied. Therefore, we investigated the mechanisms underlying the vasorelaxation effects of RJ in healthy control rats to evaluate whether the peripheral circulation was increased.Main MethodsWe used fresh RJ to examine the vasorelaxation effects and related mechanisms in Wistar rats using organ bath techniques. Furthermore, we measured changes in tail blood circulation, systolic blood pressure (sBP), and heart rate (HR) after the oral administration of RJ to control rats and nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME)–treated rats (0.5 mg/ml dissolved in distilled drinking water for 1 week). Concentrations of acetylcholine (ACh) in the RJ were measured using a commercial kit.Key findingsRJ caused vasorelaxation of isolated rat aortas and superior mesenteric arteries, and this effect was inhibited by atropine (10−5 M, 15 min) or L-NAME (10-4 M, 20 min) and endothelium-denuded arterial ring preparations. Oral RJ increased tail blood flow and mass in control rats 1 h after...
Source: Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research