Histological study of the possible effects of some dietary items on experimental atherogensis in rabbits

ABSTRACT

Thirty-five recently weaned male rabbits were used in the present work to study the histological changes in the wall of the aorta after the use of atherogenic diet. Five rabbits were fed stock diet plus 5 ml milk every day and used as a control group. Thirty animals were fed 10 g atherogenic diet/kg body weight besides the stock diet and used as experimental group. The latter group was further subdivided into 3 subgroups and were given different dietary items Subgroup A was given the stock diet plus an atherogenic one and used as a control atherogenic group, subgroup B was given the same A-diet plus raw garlic fragments, and subgroup C received the A-diet plus onion chips. All animals were sacrificed after 90 days. Specimens were taken from the abdominal aorta and processed for a histological study using both the light and electron microscopes. Specimens from animals of subgroup B showed moderate improvement of the atherosclerotic lesions, while in animals of the subgroup C the lesions were mildly improved. Garlic and onion are effective in the control of atherosclerotic process, garlic being somewhat superior to onion in that field