Diosgenin exerts an antihypertensive effect in spontaneously hypertensive rats via gut–brain communication

Gut microbiota is well-established to regulate host blood pressure. Diosgenin is a natural steroid sapogenin with documented anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antihypertensive properties. We aimed to investigate whether the antihypertensive effects of diosgenin are mediated by the microbiota-gut-brain axis in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). 15-Week-old male Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY) and age-matched SHR were randomly distributed into three groups: WKY, SHR treated with a vehicle, and SHR treated with diosgenin (100 mg kg-1). Our results showed that diosgenin prevented elevated systolic blood pressure (SBP) and ameliorated cardiac hypertrophy in SHR. Moreover, the gut microbiota composition and intestinal integrity were improved. Furthermore, increased butyrate-producing bacteria and plasma butyrate and decreased plasma lipopolysaccharides were observed in SHR treated with diosgenin. These findings were associated with reduced microglial activation and neuroinflammation in the paraventricular nucleus. Our findings suggest that diosgenin attenuates hypertension by reshaping the gut microbiota and improving the gut-brain axis.