© 1998 American Heart Association, Inc.
Original Contributions |
Increase of Vitamin E Content in LDL and Reduction of Atherosclerosis in Cholesterol-Fed Rabbits by a Water-Soluble Antioxidant-Rich Fraction of Salvia miltiorrhiza
From the Institutes of Traditional Medicine (Y.-J.W., C.-Y.H.) and Clinical Medicine (S.-J.L., C.-Y.H.), National Yang-Ming University; and the Departments of Medical Research and Education (M.-S.S.) and Internal Medicine (C.-Y.H., S.-J.L., P.W.), Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Correspondence to Ming-Shi Shiao, Department of Medical Research and Education, Veterans General Hospital-Taipei, 201, Section 2, Shih-pai Road, Taipei, Taiwan 11217, Republic of China.
Abstract—Antioxidants that prevent LDL from oxidation may reduce atherosclerosis. Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge is a Chinese herb widely used for the treatment of atherosclerosis-related disorders. Salvianolic acid B (Sal B), a water-soluble polyphenolic antioxidant isolated from the roots of this plant, was found to scavenge 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radicals and inhibit LDL oxidation more effectively than probucol. In order to evaluate the antiatherogenic potential, New Zealand White rabbits were fed for 12 weeks a normal diet, a high cholesterol diet, a high cholesterol diet containing 1% probucol, or a high cholesterol diet containing a 5% water-soluble extract of S miltiorrhiza (SM). Both SM and probucol feeding reduced plasma cholesterol. LDLs from the SM-treated group were more resistant to Cu2+-induced oxidation and contained more vitamin E (21.7±2.1 nmol/µmol LDL cholesterol) than did LDLs from the high cholesterol diet group (9.6±1.8 nmol/µmol LDL cholesterol) (P<.005). Endothelial damage, determined at week 6, was reduced by 53% in the SM group (P<.01). SM treatment reduced the atherosclerotic area in the abdominal aorta by 56% (P<.005) and cholesterol deposition in the thoracic aorta by 50% (P<.005). The severity of atherosclerosis in the SM group was significantly reduced after adjustment by using cholesterol exposure as an index of the cholesterol-lowering effect. This study concludes that the reduction of atherosclerosis by SM relies not only on its cholesterol-lowering effect but more heavily on its antioxidant potential to prevent endothelial damage and inhibit LDL oxidative modification in hypercholesterolemic animals.
Key Words: Salvia miltiorrhiza • salvianolic acid B • vitamin E • atherosclerosis • oxidized LDL
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