Fermented garlic extract ameliorates monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension in rats

This study investigated the effect of fermented garlic extract (FGE) on pulmonary hypertension in monocrotaline (MCT)-treated rats. Sprague-Dawley rats were subcutaneously injected with either 50 mg/kg MCT or a vehicle 3 days after the FGE feeding (0.97 mg nitrite/ml/day) was initiated. MCT treatment increased the weight, systolic pressure, and atrial natriuretic peptide concentration in the right ventricle but not in the left ventricle. FGE feeding attenuated these effects as well as the endothelial damage and medial hypertrophy of the pulmonary arterioles and the pulmonary fibrosis induced by MCT. These FGE effects were blocked by a soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) inhibitor. Increases in VCAM-1 and MMP-9 protein expressions, and decreases in PKG and eNOS protein expressions in the lung of MCT rats were attenuated by FGE feeding. These findings suggest that FGE ameliorates MCT-induced pulmonary hypertension by decreasing the inflammatory reaction via the NO-sGC-PKG pathway.