• Graziele Freitas de Bem, Cristiane Aguiar da Costa, Paola Raquel Braz de Oliveira, Viviane Silva Cristino Cordeiro, Izabelle Barcellos Santos, Lenize Costa Reis Marins de Carvalho, Marcelo Augusto Vieira Souza, Dayane Texeira Ognibene, Julio Beltrame Daleprane, Pergentino José Cunha Sousa, Angela Castro Resende, and Roberto Soares de Moura.
• Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Biology, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• J. Pharm. Pharmacol. 2014 Sep 1;66(9):1328-38.

ObjectivesThis study examined the effect of açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) seed extract (ASE) on cardiovascular and renal alterations in adult offspring, whose mothers were fed a low-protein (LP) diet during pregnancy.MethodsFour groups of rats were fed: control diet (20% protein); ASE (200 mg/kg per day); and LP (6% protein); LP + ASE (6% protein + ASE) during pregnancy. After weaning, all male offspring were fed a control diet and sacrificed at 4 months old. We evaluated the blood pressure, vascular function, serum and urinary parameters, plasma and kidney oxidative damage, and antioxidant activity and renal structural changes.Key FindingsHypertension and the reduced acetylcholine-induced vasodilation in the LP group were prevented by ASE. Serum levels of urea, creatinine and fractional excretion of sodium were increased in LP and reduced in LP + ASE. ASE improved nitrite levels and the superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activity in LP, with a corresponding decrease of malondialdehyde and protein carbonyl levels. Kidney volume and glomeruli number were reduced and glomerular volume was increased in LP. These renal alterations were prevented by ASE.ConclusionsTreatment of protein-restricted dams with ASE provides protection from later-life hypertension, oxidative stress, renal functional and structural changes, probably through a vasodilator and antioxidant activity.© 2014 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

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