TITLE:
Dietary γ-Aminobutyric Acid Shortens the Life Span of Stroke-Prone Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats
AUTHORS:
Nakamichi Watanabe, Naomi Washio
KEYWORDS:
γ-Amino Butyric Acid, Stroke-Prone Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat, Life Span
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.2 No.4,
July
1,
2011
ABSTRACT: Dietary γ-amino butyric acid (GABA) has been suggested to decrease systolic blood pressure. This study aimed to ex-amine the effects of dietary GABA on the life span of stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSPs). In this study, life span was determined for SHRSPs provided 1% NaCl solution or 0.01% GABA in 1% NaCl solution as drinking water. The life span of the GABA-fed group (76.3 ± 1.65 days) was significantly shorter than that of the control group (81.6 ± 0.88 days). The results of this study may not be applicable to humans. Future studies will be necessary to elucidate the mechanism underlying this phenomenon.