L-glutamine supplementation exerts cardio-renal protection in estrogen-progestin oral contraceptive-treated female rats

Publication date: Available online 22 November 2019Source: Environmental Toxicology and PharmacologyAuthor(s): Kehinde Samuel Olaniyi, Isaiah Woru Sabinari, Lawrence Aderemi OlatunjiAbstractGlycogen and lipid disruptions represent a spectrum of metabolic disorders that are crucial risk factors for cardiovascular disease in estrogen-progestin oral contraceptive (COC) users. L-glutamine (GLN) has been shown to exert a modulatory effect in metabolic disorders-related syndromes. We therefore hypothesized that GLN supplementation would protect against myocardial and renal glycogen-lipid mishandling in COC-treated animals by modulation of Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) and xanthine oxidase (XO) activities.Adult female Wistar rats were randomly allotted into control, GLN, COC and COC + GLN groups (six rats per group). The groups received vehicle (distilled water, p.o.), GLN (1 g/kg), COC containing 1.0 µg ethinylestradiol plus 5.0 µg levonorgestrel and COC plus GLN respectively, daily for 8 weeks.Data showed that treatment with COC led to metabolically-induced obesity with correspondent increased visceral and epicardial fat mass. It also led to increased plasma, myocardial and renal triglyceride, free fatty acid, malondialdehyde (MDA), XO activity, uric acid content and decreased glutathione content and G6PD activity. In addition, COC increased myocardial but not renal glycogen content, and increased myocardial and renal glycogen synthase activity, increased pl...
Source: Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology - Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research