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An aqueous extract of rhubarb ( Rheum undulatum ) suppresses vascular inflammation in the atherogenic‐diet rats
Author(s) -
Moon Mi Kyoung,
Kang Dae Gill,
Cao Li Hua,
Lee Jun Kyoung,
Lee An Sook,
Lee Ho Sub
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.20.5.a1146-d
Subject(s) - aorta , medicine , endocrinology , inflammation , vascular tissue , cholesterol , umbilical vein , chemistry , artery , biology , biochemistry , in vitro , botany
An aqueous extract of rhubarb ( Rheum undulatum L, AR) was found to exhibit a relaxant activity in the vascular tissues and suppressed the vascular inflammatory process in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) via NO‐cGMP signaling pathway. The present study was aimed at investigating whether AR suppresses vascular inflammatory process in rats with atherogenic‐diet. In rats with atherogenic‐diet for 7 weeks, plasma total‐ and LDL‐cholesterol concentrations were increased compared with those in the control group, respectively. Histological examination revealed a thickening of intima and media in the aorta and carotid artery that is compatible with the processes of atherosclerosis. Treatment of atherogenic‐diet rats with AR (200 mg/kg/day) reduced a thickness of aorta and carotid artery and markedly lowered plasma total‐ and LDL‐cholesterol concentrations. In addition, expression level of aortic intercellur adhesion molecule‐1 (ICAM‐1), which was highly expressed in the aortic tissue of atherogenic‐diet rats, was down‐regulated by treatment of AR. These findings suggest that AR suppresses vascular inflammation in the atherogenic‐diet rats.