Procyanidins extracted from the litchi pericarp attenuate atherosclerosis and hyperlipidemia associated with consumption of a high fat diet in apolipoprotein-E knockout mice.

Abstract

The beneficial effects of red wine against cardiovascular disease are associated with the abundant antioxidant polyphenols such as procyanidins. Recently, procyanidins extracted from the litchi pericarp (LPPC), a new source of procyanidins showed strong antioxidant activities in vitro, have been isolated and identified in our laboratory. The aim of present study was to investigate the anti-atherosclerotic effects of LPPC on atherosclerosis and hyperlipidemia in apolipoprotein E knockout (ApoE KO) mice fed a high fat diet (HFD, 21% fat, 0.15% cholesterol) for 24 weeks. The results showed that LPPC intervention alleviated atherosclerosis, fat accumulation and hyperlipidemia in ApoE KO mice. Furthermore, real-time RT-PCR results showed that LPPC can regulate several key genes involved in hepatic lipid homeostasis, such as increasing mRNA levels of farnesoid X receptor (FXR) and small heterodimer partner (SHP) which emerge as key regulators of lipid homeostasis at the transcriptional level, decreasing mRNA levels of 3-hydroxy-3-Methylglutaryl (HMG)-CoA reductase which mediates cholestrol biosynthesis, and up-regulating the mRNA expressions of ATP-binding cassette transporter-1 (ABCA1) which modulates cholesterol efflux. Thus, these results elucidated that LPPC could alleviate the lipid disorder especially hypercholesteromia and ameliorate atherosclerosis in ApoE-KO mice fed a WTD via regulating gene expression involved in hepatic lipid homeostasis effectively.

• Authors: Shuang Rong, Siqi Zhao, Xu Kai, Li Zhang, Yanting Zhao, Xiao Xiao, Wei Bao, Liegang Liu
• Journal: Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie (Biomed Pharmacother) Vol. 97 Pg. 1639-1644 (Jan 2018) ISSN: 1950-6007 [Electronic] France
• PMID: 29793326 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Chemical References

• Apolipoproteins E
• Biflavonoids
• Plant Extracts
• Proanthocyanidins
• Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear
• Triglycerides
• procyanidin
• Catechin
• Cholesterol

Topics

• Animals
• Apolipoproteins E (deficiency)
• Atherosclerosis (blood, complications, drug therapy, pathology)
• Biflavonoids (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Body Weight (drug effects)
• Catechin (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Cholesterol (biosynthesis)
• Diet, High-Fat
• Hyperlipidemias (blood, complications, drug therapy, pathology)
• Litchi (chemistry)
• Male
• Mice, Knockout
• Plant Extracts (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Proanthocyanidins (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear (metabolism)
• Triglycerides (biosynthesis)