Background and Objectives: Considering atherosclerosis as one of the more challenging threats to healthcare worldwide, any novel therapy that counteracts the risks for developing it, provides new opportunities for the management of this process. Material and methods: We performed an experimental research in which we induced a hypercholesterolemia via a cholesterol-rich diet. Our aim was to demonstrate the antiatherogenic potential of two essential amino acids (valine and leucine). The experimental study was carried out over a period of 60 days. Male Wistar rats weighing between 250-280 g were used and divided into 4 groups, each group including 8 animals. Group I-control was fed with a standard diet. Group II received cholesterol, group III cholesterol and valine and group IV cholesterol and leucine. Blood samples were collected from the retro-orbital plexus, under anesthesia with 75 mg/kg of intraperitoneal ketamine, in three different moments (R0-1st day, R1-the 30th day, R2-the 60th day) in order to measure the levels of triglycerides. Results: In R0, there were no significant differences between the average levels of triglycerides across all the groups (p < 0.05). Compared to the group I, in R1 and R2, the average levels of triglycerides were significantly higher in all groups (p < 0.001). Also, in R1 and R2, the average triglycerides in group II receiving cholesterol (C) were significantly higher than those in group III receiving valine (C + V) as well as in group IV receiving leucine (C + L) (p < 0.001; p < 0.05). In R2, the average triglycerides in group III were significantly lower than in group IV (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Our data provides evidence that valine and leucine have a direct impact on the lipid metabolism parameters by lowering the level of triglycerides. The comparison of the two essential amino acids indicates that valine acts more promptly and rapidly than leucine.
Keywords: atherosclerosis; leucine; rat; triglycerides; valine.