Nwokocha, Chukwuemeka R;
Palacios, Javier;
Reid, Melissa Kaydeen;
Nunes, Nikolai Javier;
Gray, Wesley;
McGrowder, Donovan;
Orie, Nelson N;
(2025)
The Differential Modulatory Effects of Potassium Supplementation on Blood Pressure, Vascular Reactivity, Glomerular Filtration Rates, and Oxidative Stress in Different Experimental Hypertensive Models.
Nutrients
, 17
(11)
, Article 1865. 10.3390/nu17111865.
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Abstract
High-sodium/low-potassium in the modern diet, potassium excretion, and sodium retention have all been implicated in hypertension. Objectives: This study investigated the differential effects of potassium (K⁺) supplementation on blood pressure, renal function, and oxidative stress in two experimental hypertensive rat models: L-NAME-induced (nitric oxide synthase inhibitor-induced hypertension presenting with reduced NO bioavailability, endothelial dysfunction, vasoconstriction) and DOCA-salt-induced hypertension (deoxycorticosterone acetate + salt mimics volume-dependent hypertension of hypermineralocorticoidism, low renin, high sodium retention and severe cardiac fibrosis and oxidative stress). Methods: Male Sprague Dawley rats were treated with L-NAME or DOCA-salt, with or without 0.75% KCl dietary supplementation for eight weeks. Blood pressure, vascular reactivity, serum electrolytes, renal function markers, and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were evaluated. Results: Potassium supplementation significantly reduced (20%) mean arterial pressure and (80%) oxidative stress markers in the L-NAME model but not in the DOCA-salt model. In both hypertensive models, K⁺ reduced (15%) vascular contractile response to phenylephrine, though it did not improve acetylcholine-induced vasodilation. Notably, K⁺ supplementation improved glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), sodium–potassium ratio, and renal biomarkers (urea and creatinine) in the L-NAME model, suggesting nephroprotection. However, in the DOCA-salt group, these markers either remained unchanged or worsened. Conclusions: These findings indicate that the antihypertensive and renoprotective effects of potassium are model-specific and depend on the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms, such as nitric oxide bioavailability and mineralocorticoid sensitivity. Dietary potassium may be more effective in patients with endothelial dysfunction-dominant hypertensive subtypes compared with volume-dependent hypertension and may call for K⁺ supplementation studies to be stratified by hypertension subtype.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Differential Modulatory Effects of Potassium Supplementation on Blood Pressure, Vascular Reactivity, Glomerular Filtration Rates, and Oxidative Stress in Different Experimental Hypertensive Models |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3390/nu17111865 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17111865 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Potassium supplementation; L-NAME model of hypertension; DOCA-salt model of hypertension; vascular reactivity; electrolyte balance; nutrition |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Medicine |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10209492 |
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