(−)-Epicatechin Prevents Blood Pressure Increase and Reduces Locomotor Hyperactivity in Young Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

Figure 4

Effect of (−)-epicatechin treatment on superoxide production (a), NOS activity (b), endothelium-dependent relaxation induced by acetylcholine (c), endothelium-independent relaxation induced by SNP (d), inhibitory effect of L-NAME pretreatment (300 μmol/L) on ACh-induced relaxation (e), and NO-dependent and NO-independent components of relaxation (f) in the aorta of spontaneously hypertensive rats. Values represent mean ± SEM; –8 for Cont and –10 for Epi. versus Cont group. Abbreviations: ACh: acetylcholine, AUC: area under the curve, a.u.: arbitrary units, Cont: control group, Epi: (−)-epicatechin-treated group, L-NAME: -nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, NO: nitric oxide, NOS: nitric oxide synthase, and SNP: sodium nitroprusside.

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