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Dietary Lycopene Has a Protective Effect on Cardiovascular Disease in New Zealand Male Rabbits |
M. Verghese,
J.E. Richardson,
J. Boateng,
L.A. Shackelford,
C. Howard,
L.T. Walker and C.B. Chawan |
Abstract:
The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of lycopene on hypercholesterolemia in New Zealand male rabbits. Rabbits (n = 25) were divided into five groups (n = 5) and fed a normal laboratory diet (NC), a high cholesterol (HC) (0.5 g/100 g) diet, a high cholesterol diet with 42.6 ppm (HC-LYC1), 85.2 ppm (HC-LYC2) and 127.8 ppm (HC-LYC3) lycopene, respectively. Rabbits were fed their respective diets for 12 weeks. Serum was analyzed for lipids: total cholesterol (TC), (triacylglycerol) TG, LDL-C (low density lipoprotein-cholesterol), High density lipoprotein-Cholesterol (HDL-C) and apolipoproteins A1 (Apo A1) and B (Apo B). Livers were collected for measurement of HMG-CoA reductase and ACAT activities and atherosclerotic plaque formation were assessed in aorta. Results showed that rabbits fed HC-LYC1, HC-LYC2 and HC-LYC3 had significantly (p≤0.05) lower serum TC, LDL, TG, ApoB and significantly higher HDL and Apo A1 levels compared to the control-HC. HDL-C (mmol L-1) in HC-LYC1, HC-LYC2 and HC-LYC3 were 2.81, 2.99 and 3.71, respectively compared to 1.93 in the control-HC group. There was a highly significant (p≤0.0001) reduction in hepatic HMG-CoA reductase levels in the groups fed the lycopene diets (HC-LYC1, HC-LYC2 and HC-LYC3) compared to the control-HC. A significant (p≤0.05) reduction in ACAT activity was seen as lycopene levels increased. The percent of atherosclerotic plaque in the aorta of the rabbits fed the control-HC diets (41.5%) was reduced to 14.8 ppm when lycopene was added to the diet at 127.8 ppm. The results of this study demonstrated that lycopene might play a significant role in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
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How to cite this article:
M. Verghese, J.E. Richardson, J. Boateng, L.A. Shackelford, C. Howard, L.T. Walker and C.B. Chawan, 2008. Dietary Lycopene Has a Protective Effect on Cardiovascular Disease in New Zealand Male Rabbits. Journal of Biological Sciences, 8: 268-277. DOI: 10.3923/jbs.2008.268.277 URL: https://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=jbs.2008.268.277
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