{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,10]],"date-time":"2026-10-10T17:32:58Z","timestamp":1791653578641,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,3,25]],"date-time":"2019-03-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1553472000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Protocatechuic acid (PCA), a strong antioxidant, has been reported for its cardiovascular-protective effects. This study aimed to investigate the effects of PCA administration on vascular endothelial function, mediated by insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and antioxidant activities in aging hypertension. Thirty-six-week-old male aging spontaneously hypertensive rats were randomly divided into vehicle control (SHR) and PCA (SHR+PCA) groups, while age-matched Wistar\u2013Kyoto rats (WKY) served as the normotensive vehicle control group. The oral PCA (200 mg\/kg\/day) was administered daily for a total of 12 weeks. When the rats reached the age of 48 weeks, the rat aortas were isolated for the evaluation of vascular reactivity and Western blotting. Also, nitric oxide (NO) production and antioxidant activities were examined among the three groups. The results showed that, when compared with the SHR group, the insulin-induced and IGF-1-induced vasorelaxation were significantly improved in the SHR+PCA group. There was no significant difference in the endothelium-denuded vessels among the three groups. After the pre-incubation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) or NO synthase (NOS) inhibitors, the vasorelaxation was abolished and comparable among the three groups. The protein levels of insulin receptors, IGF-1 receptors, phospho-protein kinase B (p-Akt)\/Akt, and phospho-endothelial NOS (p-eNOS)\/eNOS in aortic tissues were significantly enhanced in the SHR+PCA group when compared with the SHR group. Moreover, significant improvements of nitrate\/nitrite concentration and antioxidant activities, including superoxide dismutase, catalase, and total antioxidants, were also found in the SHR+PCA group. In conclusion, the 12 weeks of PCA administration remarkably improved the endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation induced by insulin and IGF-1 in aging hypertension through enhancing the PI3K\u2013NOS\u2013NO pathway. Furthermore, the enhanced antioxidant activities partly contributed to the improved vasorelaxation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu11030699","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,3,25]],"date-time":"2019-03-25T06:56:52Z","timestamp":1553497012000},"page":"699","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":37,"title":["Twelve-Week Protocatechuic Acid Administration Improves Insulin-Induced and Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1-Induced Vasorelaxation and Antioxidant Activities in Aging Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Kunanya","family":"Masodsai","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Sports Sciences, University of Taipei, Taipei 11153, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6147-0183","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yi-Yuan","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Occupational Therapy, Asia University, Taichung 41354, Taiwan"},{"name":"Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Science, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rungchai","family":"Chaunchaiyakul","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Sports Science and Technology, Mahidol University, Nakhonpathom 73170, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chia-Ting","family":"Su","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 24205, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8393-8349","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shin-Da","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Occupational Therapy, Asia University, Taichung 41354, Taiwan"},{"name":"Department of Physical Therapy, Graduate Institute of Rehabilitation Science, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan"},{"name":"School of Rehabilitation Science, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ai-Lun","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Sports Sciences, University of Taipei, Taipei 11153, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,3,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Whelton, P.K., Carey, R.M., Aronow, W.S., Casey, D.E., Collins, K.J., Dennison Himmelfarb, C., DePalma, S.M., Gidding, S., Jamerson, K.A., and Jones, D.W. 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