Um Min Young, Hwang Kwang Hyun, Choi Won Hee, Ahn Jiyun, Jung Chang Hwa, Ha Tae Youl
Metabolism and Nutrition Research Group, Korea Food Research Institute, Seongnam, South Korea.
Gyeongnam Department of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Korea Institute of Toxicology, Jinju, South Korea.
Nutr Res. 2014 Oct;34(10):886-93. doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.2014.09.001. Epub 2014 Sep 16.
Curcumin, the yellow substance found in turmeric, possesses antioxidant, anti-inflammation, anticancer, and lipid-lowering properties. Because we hypothesized that curcumin could ameliorate the development of atherosclerosis, the present study focused on the effects and potential mechanisms of curcumin consumption on high-cholesterol diet-induced atherosclerosis in rabbits. During our study, New Zealand white rabbits were fed 1 of 3 experimental diets: a normal diet, a normal diet enriched with 1% cholesterol (HCD), or an HCD supplemented with 0.2% curcumin. At the end of 8 weeks, blood samples were collected to determine the levels of serum lipids, cytokines, and soluble adhesion molecule levels. Gene expression of adhesion molecules and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in aortas were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. Compared with the HCD group, rabbits fed an HCD supplemented with 0.2% curcumin had significantly less aortic lesion areas and neointima thickening. Curcumin reduced the levels of total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and oxidized low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in serum by 30.7%, 41.3%, 30.4%, and 66.9% (all P < .05), respectively, but did not affect high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. In addition, curcumin attenuated HCD-induced CD36 expression, circulating inflammatory cytokines, and soluble adhesive molecule levels. Curcumin reduced the mRNA and protein expression of intracellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, P-selectin, and monocyte chemotactic protein-1, and it inhibited HCD-induced up-regulation of MMP-1, MMP-2, and MMP-9. Our results demonstrate that curcumin exerts an antiatherosclerotic effect, which is mediated by multiple mechanisms that include lowering serum lipids and oxidized low-density lipoprotein, thus modulating the proinflammatory cytokine levels and altering adhesion molecules and MMP gene expression.
姜黄素是姜黄中的黄色物质，具有抗氧化、抗炎、抗癌和降脂特性。由于我们推测姜黄素可以改善动脉粥样硬化的发展，因此本研究聚焦于食用姜黄素对高胆固醇饮食诱导的家兔动脉粥样硬化的影响及潜在机制。在我们的研究中，给新西兰白兔喂食三种实验饮食中的一种：正常饮食、添加1%胆固醇的正常饮食（高胆固醇饮食，HCD）或添加0.2%姜黄素的高胆固醇饮食。在8周结束时，采集血样以测定血脂、细胞因子和可溶性黏附分子水平。通过定量实时聚合酶链反应和蛋白质印迹法测量主动脉中黏附分子和基质金属蛋白酶（MMPs）的基因表达。与高胆固醇饮食组相比，喂食添加0.2%姜黄素的高胆固醇饮食的家兔主动脉病变面积和内膜增厚明显减少。姜黄素使血清中的总胆固醇、甘油三酯、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇和氧化型低密度脂蛋白胆固醇水平分别降低了30.7%、41.3%、30.4%和66.9%（均P <.05），但不影响高密度脂蛋白胆固醇水平。此外，姜黄素减弱了高胆固醇饮食诱导的CD36表达、循环炎症细胞因子和可溶性黏附分子水平。姜黄素降低了细胞间黏附分子-1、血管细胞黏附分子-1、P-选择素和单核细胞趋化蛋白-1的mRNA和蛋白表达，并抑制了高胆固醇饮食诱导的MMP-1、MMP-2和MMP-9的上调。我们的结果表明，姜黄素发挥抗动脉粥样硬化作用，其作用由多种机制介导，包括降低血脂和氧化型低密度脂蛋白，从而调节促炎细胞因子水平并改变黏附分子和MMP基因表达。
