Vitamin E and factors affecting atherosclerosis in rabbits fed a cholesterol-rich diet.
The present study aims to examine the effects of a palm-oil-derived vitamin E mixture containing tocotrienol (approximately 70%) and tocopherol (approximately 30%) on plasma lipids and on the formation of atherosclerotic plaques in rabbits given a 2% cholesterol diet. Eighteen New Zealand White rabbits (2.2-2.8 kg) were divided into three groups; group 1 (control) was fed a normal diet, group 2 (AT) was fed a 2% cholesterol diet and group 3 (PV) was fed a 2% cholesterol diet with oral palm vitamin E (60 mg/kg body weight) given daily for 10 weeks. There were no differences in the total cholesterol and triacylglycerol levels between the AT and PV groups. The PV group had a significantly higher concentrations of HDL-c and a lower TC/HDL-c ratio compared to the AT group (P < 0.003). The aortic tissue content of cholesterol and atherosclerotic lesions were comparable in both the AT and PV groups. However, the PV group had a lower content of plasma and aortic tissue malondialdehyde (P < 0.005). Our findings suggest that despite a highly atherogenic diet, palm vitamin E improved some important plasma lipid parameters, reduced lipid peroxidation but did not have an effect on the atherosclerotic plaque formation.
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
N M
NM
Ismail
N
N
Abdul Ghafar
K
K
Jaarin
J H
JH
Khine
G M
GM
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D000818:Animals; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000378:metabolism*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL / Q000097:blood; D008079:Lipoproteins, VLDL / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D011817:Rabbits; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000378:metabolism*
D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL; D008079:Lipoproteins, VLDL; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D014280:Triglycerides; D014810:Vitamin E