Cardioprotective Effects of Red Raspberries in Obesity-prone Rats

The intake of red raspberry fruit is inversely related to cardiac risk factors and cardiovascular disease. In this study, the effect of red raspberry intake was assessed in obesity-prone, Zucker Fatty rats as a model of cardiometabolic risk. For 8 weeks, rats were fed a higher-fat diet (45% of kcal) containing 2% (wt/wt) freeze-dried whole raspberry powder (RSP) or added sugars (CON) to match macronutrient and calorie content. RSP reduced fasting triglycerides and fasting glucose but did not appear to affect fasting insulin, fasting low-density lipoprotein, or body weight gain. RSP trended but did not significantly reduce systolic blood pressure, but did significantly reduce heart rate relative to time-matched CON rats. Noteworthy, compared to CON, RSP significantly reduced left ventricular (LV) enlargement and wall thickening as measured by echocardiography, without impacting ejection fraction. LV remodeling is a known risk factor for and precursor to heart failure. Ongoing studies of LV tissue will reve...