Reduction of lauric acid content in virgin coconut oil improved plasma lipid profile in high-fat diet-induced hypercholesterolemic mice.

Virgin coconut oil (VCO) is claimed to have various health benefits, but favorable effects of its major component (∼50%), lauric acid, are controversial. Therefore, we aimed to reduce lauric acid content (∼30%) in VCO and evaluate its effect compared to VCO and medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), on food intake, bodyweight (BW), lipid profiles, and hepatic histology. Female C57BL/6 mice were treated with different diets for 3 months: control (normal diet), high-fat diet (HF), HF + VCO, HF + MCT, HF + low lauric acid VCO (LLA), and normal diet + LLA (C + LLA). LLA was prepared by enzymatic interesterification of VCO with methyl octanoate (methyl caprylate) and methyl decanoate (methyl caprate). Plasma and liver lipids, including total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and triglyceride, were measured by colorimetric assay, and hepatic fat accumulation was examined by oil-red-O staining. HF mice exhibited high plasma and liver TC and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). VCO or MCT treatment lowered liver TC and LDL, whereas LLA increased plasma HDL and markedly improved TC:HDL ratio. The HF-induced hepatic fat accumulation was attenuated by all treatments, of which VCO was the most effective. Control mice administered with LLA demonstrated lower liver TC and LDL, but higher plasma TC and HDL compared to controls. Lowest BW gain and food intake were found in mice treated with LLA. In conclusion, VCO, MCT, and LLA ameliorated hepatic histopathology caused by HF. VCO and MCT improved liver lipid profiles, whereas LLA has more beneficial effect on plasma lipids via a better TC:HDL ratio and showed promise for BW control.

Isolation of Intrapulmonary Artery and Smooth Muscle Cells to Investigate Vascular Responses.

The intrapulmonary artery (IPA) and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) isolated from rat lungs can be used to study the underlying mechanisms of vasoconstriction and vasorelaxation. After isolating the IPA and VSMCs, the characteristics of vascular responses in physiological and pathological conditions can be assessed in the absence of extrinsic factors such as nerve signals, hormones, cytokines, etc. Thus, the IPA and VSMCs serve as excellent models for studying vascular physiology/pathophysiology, along with various experimental investigations, such as modulation by pharmacological agents, patch-clamp electrophysiological analysis, calcium imaging, etc. Here, we have used a technique for isolating the IPA to investigate vascular responses in an organ bath setup. IPA segments were mounted on the organ bath chamber via intraluminal wires and stimulated by various pharmacological agents. The changes in IPA vascular tone (i.e., vasoconstriction and vasorelaxation), were recorded using an isometric force transducer and physiological data analysis software program. We implemented several experimental protocols, which can be adapted to investigate the mechanisms of vasorelaxation/vasoconstriction for studying the pharmacological activities of phytochemical or synthetic drugs. The protocols can also be used to evaluate drugs' roles in modulating various diseases, including pulmonary arterial hypertension. The IPA model allows us to investigate the concentration-response curve, which is crucial in assessing drugs' pharmacodynamic parameters.

Dried mulberry fruit ameliorates cardiovascular and liver histopathological changes in high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidemic mice.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Metabolic disease encompasses most contemporary non-communicable diseases, especially cardiovascular and fatty liver disease. Mulberry fruits of Morus alba L. are a favoured food and a traditional medicine. While they are anti-atherosclerotic and reduce hyperlipidemic risk factors, studies need wider scope that include ameliorating cardiovascular and liver pathologies if they are to become clinically effective treatments. Therefore, the present study sought to show that freshly dried mulberry fruits (dMF) might counteract the metabolic/cardiovascular pathologies in mice made hyperlipidemic by high-fat diet (HF). EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE: C57BL/6J mice were fed for 3 months with either: i) control diet, ii) HF, iii) HF+100 mg/kg dMF, or iv) HF+300 mg/kg dMF. Body weight gain, food intake, visceral fat accumulation, fasting blood glucose, plasma lipids, and aortic, heart, and liver histopathologies were evaluated. Adipocyte lipid accumulation, autophagy, and bile acid binding were also investigated. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: HF increased food intake, body weight, visceral fat, plasma total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), TC/HDL ratio, blood glucose, aortic collagen, arterial and cardiac wall thickness, and liver lipid. Both dMF doses prevented hyperphagia, body weight gain, and visceral fat accumulation, lowered blood glucose, plasma TG and unfavourable TC/HDL and elevated plasma HDL beyond baseline. Arterial and cardiac wall hypertrophy, aortic collagen fibre accumulation and liver lipid deposition ameliorated in dMF-fed mice. Clinical trials on dMF are worthwhile but outcomes should be holistic commensurate with the constellation of disease risks. Here, dMF should supplement the switch to nutrient-rich from current energy-dense diets that are progressively crippling national health systems.