Fermented Wheat Germ Extract (Avemar) in the Treatment of Cardiac Remodeling and Metabolic Symptoms in Rats

Abstract

Avemar, a product of industrial fermentation of wheat germ with a standardized content of benzoquinone and plant flavonoids, has been tested as an anti-cancer and immunomodulatory dietary supplement. Proposed mechanisms include anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory actions. This study has determined whether these actions of Avemar may also be useful in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Two experimental rat models of cardiovascular remodeling were used in this project: the deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt-induced model of chronic hypertension (study I) and a high-carbohydrate/high-fat diet-induced model producing chronic symptoms of the metabolic syndrome and its associated cardiovascular complications (study II). Our results in these rat models of hypertension and diet-induced obesity show that treatment with Avemar improved cardiac function, decreased macrophage infiltration resulting in decreased collagen deposition in the ventricular myocardium, reversed an increased stiffness of the left ventricle in the diseased hearts and attenuated increased plasma malondialdehyde concentrations. In addition to the changes in the heart, Avemar reversed glucose intolerance, normalized systolic blood pressure and decreased visceral fat deposition in rats fed a high-fat/high-carbohydrate diet. In conclusion, the fermented wheat germ extract Avemar has a potential role in attenuating chronic hypertension, diabetes or metabolic syndrome-induced cardiovascular symptoms along with metabolic abnormalities such as glucose tolerance and obesity.