Abstract 349: Ume (Prunus Mume) Attenuates Angiotensin II-related Hypertension and Vascular Inflammation

Ume (Prunus mume), is a traditional and familiar food in Asian countries, and is most often pickled (ume-boshi) or used to make juice concentrate (bainiku-ekisu) and wine. Recently, these products are attracting attention as a health food. Angiotensin II (AngII) plays a pivotal role in development of hypertension. However, how Ume works on hypertension still remains unknown. For in vivo experiment, 8- to 10-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were infused with AngII for 2 weeks. Mice are concurrently fed with 10 g/L bainiku-ekisu or normal water. Cardiac function and blood pressure was measured using echocardiography and tail cuff plethysmography. Heart weight and body weight were measured to assess cardiac hypertrophy. For in vitro experiment, primary cultured fibroblasts and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) of 12-week-old Sprague-Dawley rat thoracic aorta was explanted. Bainiku-ekisu or ume-boshi extracts were pretreated to fibroblast and VSMC respectively, prior to AngII stimulation. In in vivo analysis, AngII-induced development of hypertension was significantly attenuated with the bainiku-ekisu treatment. AngII infusion increased heart weight body weight ratio, which was not altered by the bainiku-ekisu treatment. Body weight difference was not observed. Echocardiography data indicated that the protective effect of bainiku-ekisu. In vascular fibroblasts, bainiku-ekisu attenuated induction of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM1) by AngII. In VSMC, hexane fraction extracted from ume-boshi also attenuated VCAM1 induction. Our findings indicate Ume products prevent AngII-induced hypertension and VCAM1 induction. VCAM1 is a key modulator of ER stress and vascular inflammation, that leads to cellular aging. Ume might be a good candidate for a supplement or drug for cardiovascular disease. Further research to elucidate the active ingredient or pursue more efficient processing methods is desired.