Muga Miriam Adoyo, Chao Jane C-J
School of Nutrition and Health Sciences, College of Public Health and Nutrition, Taipei Medical University, 250 Wu-Hsing Street, Taipei 110, Taiwan.
BMC Complement Altern Med. 2014 Dec 6;14:470. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-14-470.
Altered plasma lipids, oxidative stress, and inflammation have been involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. Fish oil has shown inconclusive effects on plasma lipids and oxidative stress. Spirulina has both cholesterol lowering and antioxidant properties. However, the effect of fish oil and spirulina on hypercholesterolemia has not been studied. We investigated the effects of fish oil, spirulina, and their combination on hypercholesterolemia.
The hamsters were divided into 7 groups: control, high cholesterol (HF), fish oil (post FO), spirulina (post SP), and a combination of fish oil and spirulina (post SF, pre-SF, and HF + SF) groups. The HF and HF + SF groups were given a high cholesterol diet for 8 weeks. The post FO, post SP, and post SF groups were given a high cholesterol diet for 4 weeks and then the treatment for 4 weeks. The pre-SF group was given the combined treatment for 4 weeks and then a high cholesterol diet for 4 weeks.
The HF and HF + SF groups altered plasma lipids, increased oxidative stress, inhibited antioxidants, and increased inflammation. While the post FO group increased plasma lipids and was more atherogenic. The vice versa was observed in spirulina-treated group. Both the post SP and post SF groups inhibited oxidative stress and increased antioxidant status, and post FO and post SP diets regulated pro-inflammatory cytokines to near the control levels.
Both single treatment of fish oil or spirulina inhibit oxidative stress and inflammation. Treatment with a combination of fish oil and spirulina (post SF) may be beneficial for diet-induced hypercholesterolemic hamsters.
血浆脂质改变、氧化应激和炎症参与了心血管疾病的发病机制。鱼油对血浆脂质和氧化应激的影响尚无定论。螺旋藻具有降低胆固醇和抗氧化特性。然而，鱼油和螺旋藻对高胆固醇血症的影响尚未得到研究。我们研究了鱼油、螺旋藻及其组合对高胆固醇血症的影响。
将仓鼠分为7组：对照组、高胆固醇组（HF）、鱼油组（后鱼油组）、螺旋藻组（后螺旋藻组）以及鱼油和螺旋藻组合组（后鱼油螺旋藻组、前鱼油螺旋藻组和HF + SF组）。HF组和HF + SF组给予高胆固醇饮食8周。后鱼油组、后螺旋藻组和后鱼油螺旋藻组给予高胆固醇饮食4周，然后进行4周治疗。前鱼油螺旋藻组给予联合治疗4周，然后给予高胆固醇饮食4周。
HF组和HF + SF组改变了血浆脂质，增加了氧化应激，抑制了抗氧化剂，并增加了炎症。而后鱼油组增加了血浆脂质，且更具动脉粥样硬化性。螺旋藻治疗组则观察到相反的情况。后螺旋藻组和后鱼油螺旋藻组均抑制了氧化应激并提高了抗氧化状态，后鱼油组和后螺旋藻组饮食将促炎细胞因子调节至接近对照水平。
单独使用鱼油或螺旋藻治疗均可抑制氧化应激和炎症。鱼油和螺旋藻联合治疗（后鱼油螺旋藻组）可能对饮食诱导的高胆固醇血症仓鼠有益。
