Bee Bread Ameliorates Vascular Inflammation and Impaired Vasorelaxation in Obesity-Induced Vascular Damage Rat Model: The Role of eNOS/NO/cGMP-Signaling Pathway

Obesity and hyperlipidemia are major risk factors for developing vascular diseases. Bee bread (BB) has been reported to exhibit some biological actions, including anti-obesity and anti-hyperlipidemic. This study aims to investigate whether bee bread can ameliorate vascular inflammation and impaired vasorelaxation activity through eNOS/NO/cGMP pathway in obese rats. Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups (n = 10/group), namely: control (normal group), obese rats (OB group), obese rats treated with bee bread (0.5 g/kg/day, OB/BB group) and obese rats treated with orlistat (10 mg/kg/day, OB/OR group). The latter three groups were given a high-fat diet (HFD) for 6 weeks to induced obesity before being administered with their respective treatments for another 6 weeks. After 12 weeks of the total experimental period, rats in the OB group demonstrated significantly higher Lee obesity index, lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein), aortic proinflammatory markers (tumor necrosis factor-α, nuclear factor-κβ), aortic structural damage and impairment in vasorelaxation response to acetylcholine (ACh). Bee bread significantly ameliorated the obesity-induced vascular damage manifested by improvements in the lipid profile, aortic inflammatory markers, and the impaired vasorelaxation activity by significantly enhancing nitric oxide release, promoting endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) immunoexpression. These findings suggest that the administration of bee bread ameliorates the impaired vasorelaxation response to ACh by improving eNOS/NO/cGMP-signaling pathway in obese rats, suggesting its vascular therapeutic role.     

A Case Study of Single‐Pill Combination Therapy: The Ezetimibe/Simvastatin Combination for Treatment of Hyperlipidemia

In recent years, combination therapy has received growing popularity as a powerful therapeutic tactic for the treatment of diseases. The justifications and benefits of combination therapy are far‐reaching, including but not limited to addressing unmet medical needs such as cancer, malaria, and HIV/AIDS, improved clinical efficacy and safety with reduced dosage of a single medication, understanding the underlying science of the disease, alleviating pharmaco‐economic impacts, and better drug life‐cycle management. Using the ezetimibe/simvastatin combination therapy as a case study, a comprehensive overview of the successful discovery and development of the single‐pill combination, Vytorin, is presented in this review. A cursory introduction to combination therapy and the rationale for the ezetimibe/simvastatin combination for the treatment of hyperlipidemia provides an instructive entry point. The discovery and mode of action of simvastatin and ezetimibe monotherapies set the scene for a detailed discussion on the discovery and development of Vytorin, with emphasis on bioequivalency studies, clinical efficacy and safety profile studies, and the economic consequences of the single‐pill combination therapy. Large‐scale outcome clinical trials are also discussed to demonstrate the long‐term effects of Vytorin.     

The Health Benefits of Selected Culinary Herbs and Spices Found in the Traditional Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet is considered one of the healthiest diets in the world. This is often attributed to low saturated fat consumption, moderate wine consumption, and high vegetable consumption. However, herbs and spices associated with these diets may also play an important role in the quality of this diet. This review summarizes the most recent research regarding the anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-hyperlipidemic and anti-hypertensive properties of this collection of culinary species. Additionally, this review briefly summarizes studies performed on lesser known herbs from around the world, with the goal of identifying new culinary species that may be useful in the treatment or prevention of diseases.     

高脂血症引起小鼠内脏的基因特异性变化

通过给小鼠喂食高脂饲料建立小鼠高脂血症模型,并测定内脏中一系列相关基因的表达,为解明高脂血症形成的分子机理提供一定的理论基础.11只6周龄雄性ICR小鼠,随机分成两组:一组为基础饲料组(BD),另一组为高脂饲料组(HFD).实验结果表明:对比BD,HFD血清Tc,LDL-C,VLDL和HDL-C水平有显著上升(p<0.01),而Tg水平明显下降(p<0.05).在肝脏中,Sod基因和Gpx1基因表达显著下降,而ID1和LDL-r表达显著上升(p<0.05).心脏中,HFD的LPL基因表达明显上升(p<0.05).结果表明,上述基因表达水平的变化可能与高脂血症在生理方面带来的不良作用有关.     

荷叶超临界CO2萃取物调节动物血脂的作用

研究了荷叶超临界CO2萃取物对高脂血症大鼠调脂作用的影响。结果表明：荷叶超临界CO2萃取物能显著降低高脂大鼠的血清总胆固醇（TC）、总甘油三脂（TG）、低密度脂蛋白（LDL-C）和升高高密度脂蛋白（HDL—C），能显著降低高脂血症大鼠血清和肝脏中丙二醛（MDA）含量及提高超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶（GSH—Px）活性。     

南瓜籽油降脂模型血清脂肪酸的变化

为了筛选南瓜籽油降脂效果的生物标志物,将36只SPF级KM系雄性小鼠随机分为对照组、高脂组、南瓜籽油干预组。喂养4周后处死,使用气相色谱-质谱检测血清脂肪酸的种类与含量。结果表明,各组小鼠血清脂肪酸种类无差别;而脂肪酸C16∶1、C18∶1、C18∶2、C22∶6的含量变化显著(p0.05)。因此,小鼠血清脂肪酸C16∶1、C18∶1、C18∶2、C22∶6可做为南瓜籽油降脂的生物标志物。     

藤茶辅助降血脂作用的研究

目的：本文主要研究大别山产藤茶的辅助降血脂作用，为开发防治高血脂的保健食品提供科学依据。研究方法：即用高脂饲料喂养动物形成脂代谢紊乱，再给予动物藤茶提取物经口灌胃30d，随机选择100名志愿受试者，每天按9g泡饮45d后，检测动物和人血清中TC、TG、HDL-C三项指标，动物试验结果表明：高剂量组总胆固醇含量下降明显，中、高剂量组总胆固醇含量下降幅度分别为16．7％、23．1％。低、中、高剂量组甘油三酯含量下降明显，低、中、高剂量组甘油三酯含量下降幅度分别为17．4％、17．8％、19．1％。低、中、高剂量组高密度脂蛋白胆固醇含量升高明显，低、中、高剂量组平均升高值为4．64、5．03、4．26mg／dl。人体试食试验结果表明：试验组降总胆固醇有效率为42％、降甘油三脂有效率为72％、降血脂有效率为28％，受试者血清总胆固醇、甘油三脂明显降低。结论：藤茶具有辅助降血脂作用。     

Effects of Theabrownin from Pu-erh Tea on the Metabolism of Serum Lipids in Rats: Mechanism of Action

Abstract: Theabrownin (TB), one of the main bioactive components in pu-erh tea, has a significant blood lipid-lowering effect in hyperlipidemic rats. Therefore, it was hypothesized that TB would regulate the activity of key enzymes involved in lipid metabolism and accelerate the catabolism of exogenous cholesterol in rats fed a high fat diet. A total of 90 Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into a normal control group (Group I), a high fat diet group (Group II), and high-fat diet plus TB group (Group III). A total of 10 rats were selected from each group and killed at 15, 30, or 45 d after starting the study for analysis. After feeding 45 d, the contents of TC, TG, and LDL-C levels in Group II were increased by 54.9%, 93.1%, and 134.3% compared with those in Group III, respectively, and the content of HDL-C in Group II was decreased by 55.7%. These effects were inhibited in the rats in Group III, which exhibited no significant differences in these levels compared with Group I, indicating that TB can prevent hyperlipidemia in rats fed a high fat diet. TB enhanced the activity of hepatic lipase and hormone-sensitive triglyceride lipase (HSL) and increased the HSL mRNA expression in liver tissue and epididymis tissue. The HL activity in serum of Group III was increased by 147.6% compared with that in Group II. The content of cholesterol and bile acid in the feces of rats was increased by 21.11- and 4.08-fold by TB. It suggested that TB could promote the transformation and excretion of dietary cholesterol of rats in vivo.     

茶树花对大鼠肥胖病和高脂血症预防作用研究

目的:研究茶树花对大鼠肥胖病和高脂血症的预防作用.方法:将40只大鼠分为5组,即:基础饲料组、高脂饲料组、茶树花2.5％、5％、7.5％3个剂量组.每两天测量体重和摄食量1次,24d后断头取血,测定总胆固醇(TC)、甘油三酯(TG)、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇(LDL-C)、高密度脂蛋白胆固醇(HDL-C).取体脂(肾及睾丸周围脂肪)称重.结果:与基础饲料组相比,高脂饲料组大鼠体重、脂肪系数、TC、TG、LDL-C、动脉粥样硬化指数(AI)显著增加;3个剂量茶树花添加组大鼠体重、脂肪系数、TC、TG、LDL-C、AI均低于高脂饲料组,且呈显著或极显著差异;中、高剂量组大鼠体重、脂肪系数、TC、TG、LDL-C、HDL-C、AI与基础饲料组无明显差异.结论:茶树花对大鼠肥胖病和高脂血症有一定的预防作用,3个剂量组中添加5％茶树花效果最好,可开发为降脂减肥的纯天然保健食品.