Myrtle berry juice improves hematological parameters and alleviates oxidative stress and inflammation in the myocardium of rats fed a high‐fat diet: A combined in vivo and in silico investigation

Abstract BACKGROUND Obesity induced by high‐fat diet (HFD) is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. This study aims to evaluate the protective mechanism by which myrtle berry juice (MBJ) exhibits its anti‐obesity and cardioprotective effects in HFD‐fed rats. Additionally, the potential molecular mechanisms of delphinidin‐3‐ O ‐glucoside, one of the bioactive compounds in myrtle berries, are investigated in silico . Male Wistar rats were fed an HFD for 6 weeks to induce obesity. They were then treated daily with either MBJ (10 mL kg −1 d −1 ) or a saline solution. Metabolic parameters, myocardial lipid profile, markers of oxidative stress (malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), reduced glutathione (GSH), thiol groups (SH)) and inflammation (tumor necrosis factor‐α, interleukin‐6, interleukin‐1β), as well as hematological indices, were assessed. Also, a molecular docking study was performed to examine the potential interactions of delphinidin‐3‐ O ‐glucoside with thrombin and cyclooxygenase‐2. RESULTS Feeding HFD significantly elevated body weight and cardiac hypertrophy as well as myocardial total cholesterol, triacylglycerol and low‐density lipoprotein. HFD induced also an oxidative stress status characterized by increased MDA levels, decreased antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, CAT, GPx) and non‐enzymatic antioxidants (GSH, SH), as well as myocardial reactive oxygen species (H 2 O 2 , OH • and O 2 • ) accumulation. HFD‐fed rats also developed myocardial inflammation (tumor necrosis factor‐α, interleukin‐6, interleukin‐1β) and hematological disturbances, including altered hematocrit and leukocyte counts. MBJ treatment significantly alleviated all these biochemical disturbances. The in silico analysis predicted a strong binding affinity of delphinidin‐3‐ O ‐glucoside for these targets, confirming its potential role in the regulation of coagulation and inflammation. CONCLUSION MBJ showed significant cardioprotective and hematoprotective effects against cardiac dysfunction and hematological alterations induced by HFD. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.