[Effects of lycopene on blood lipid and red blood cell of rat with hypercholesterolemia].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of lycopene on red blood cell and the level of blood lipid. METHODS: According to the level of serum total cholesterol and weight, forty-eight adult male SD rats were divided randomly into six groups: normal control (group A), fed by normal feed; hyperlipidemia group (group B): fed by high fat diet; positive control group (group C): fed by high fat diet plus 10 mg * kg(-1) * d(-1) fluvastatin sodium; lycopene groups: fed by high fat diet plus 11 (group D), 22 (group E), 44 mg * kg(-1) * d(-1) (group F) lycopene through gavage, respectively. For all six groups, the level of serum total cholesterol (TC) and total triglyceride (TG) were measured at the end of 0, 1, 3 weeks of the study by taking samples from tail vein. At the end of the experiment, RBC and HGB were measured. RESULTS: After the rats were fed with high-fat feed for a week, models of hyperlipidemia rats were established. At the end of 3 weeks, TC of group A, B, C, D, E and F were (1.31 +/- 0.05), (19.40 +/- 0.54), (4.66 +/- 0.07), (7.18 +/- 0.06), (5.30 +/- 0.28), (4.49 +/- 0.23) mmol/L (F = 4395.72, P = 0.00), respectively;and TG were (0.42 +/- 0.01), (2.29 +/- 0.42), (0.69 +/- 0.03), (1.10 +/- 0.05), (0.63 +/- 0.02), (0.62 +/- 0.04) mmol/L (F = 127.26, P = 0.00), respectively; HGB were (143.13 +/- 6.33), (112.63 +/- 2.56), (124.75 +/- 3.62), (124.63 +/- 7.78), (132.38 +/- 6.41), (142.13 +/- 5.54) g/L (F = 34.14, P = 0.00), respectively; RBC were (6.75 +/- 0.60) x 10(12)/L, (5.08 +/- 0.75) x 10(12)/L, (7.14 +/- 0.82) x 10(12)/L, (5.94 +/- 1.09) x 10(12)/L, (6.18 +/- 0.36) x 10(12)/L and (7.31 +/- 0.58) x 10(12)/L (F = 10.35, P = 0.00), respectively. CONCLUSION: Lycopene have some protective effects on red blood cells of the hyperlipidemic rats by regulating the blood lipid and antioxidant.

Comparison of lycopene and fluvastatin effects on atherosclerosis induced by a high-fat diet in rabbits.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the antiatherogenic effect of lycopene in rabbits fed a high-fat diet. METHODS: Forty adult male rabbits were divided into five groups that were fed a standard diet, a high-fat diet, a high-fat diet plus 4 mg/kg of lycopene, a high-fat diet plus 12 mg/kg of lycopene, and a high-fat diet plus 10 mg/kg of fluvastatin, respectively. Lycopene and fluvastatin were administered intragastrically. The level of serum total cholesterol, total triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total antioxidant capacity, and malondialdehyde were measured before and after 4 and 8 wk of experimental treatment. In addition, plasma levels of lycopene, oxidized low-density lipoprotein, serum nitric oxide, and interleukin-1 were measured after the experiment. The area of atherosclerotic plaque and pathologic changes of the aorta were evaluated. RESULTS: Compared with the control, levels of total cholesterol, total triacylglycerol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, malonaldehyde, oxidized low-density lipoprotein, and interleukin-1 were increased and total antioxidant capacity and nitric oxide were decreased in the animals with a high-fat diet (P < 0.05). Intragastric administration of lycopene counteracted the change in these parameters (P < 0.05). In this case, the data showed that lycopene in the used dose was better than the fluvastatin intervention. Morphologic analysis revealed that lycopene and fluvastatin markedly reduced the formation of atherosclerotic plaques in the aorta compared with the situation in rabbits on a high-fat diet alone. CONCLUSION: Lycopene, like fluvastatin, significantly attenuated atherogenesis in rabbits fed a high-fat diet.

[Inhibitory effect of alveolar macrophages on the proliferation of pulmonary fibroblasts].

The effect of alveolar macrophages (AM) harvested from Wistar rats by lung lavage on proliferation of human embryo pulmonary fibroblasts in culture was investigated. It was observed that supernatants of AM decreased the uptake of (3)H TdR by the pulmonary fibroblasts. The AM activated with opsonized zymosan (OPZ) showed a stronger inhibitory effect on fibroblast proliferation compared with inactivated AM. Following pretreatment with indomethacin, the inhibitory effect of AM was abolished and reversed to stimulatory effect on pulmonary fibroblast proliferation. The PGE content in AM supernatant was measured with radioimmunoassay. It was observed that the inhibitory effect of AM was highly correlated to prostaglandin (PGE) content in the supernatant of AM. The results suggest that AM has both inhibitory and stimulatory effects on the proliferation of pulmonary fibroblast; the inhibitory effect is primary under normal conditions. This inhibitory action is mainly due to PGE secreted from AM. It is, therefore, suggested that AM plays an important role in suppressing pulmonary fibrosis under normal conditions.