Ginger essential oil and citral ameliorates atherosclerosis in ApoE-/- mice by modulating trimethylamine-N-oxide and gut microbiota

Suraphan Panyod; Wei-Kai Wu; Sin-Yi Peng; Yea-Jing Tseng; Ya-Chi Hsieh; Rou-An Chen; Huai-Syuan Huang; Yi-Hsun Chen; Hsiao-Li Chuang; Cheng-Chih Hsu; Ting-Chin David Shen; Kai-Chien Yang; Chi-Tang Ho; Ming-Shiang Wu; Lee-Yan Sheen

doi:10.1038/s41538-023-00196-0

Ginger essential oil and citral ameliorates atherosclerosis in ApoE^-/- mice by modulating trimethylamine-N-oxide and gut microbiota

NPJ Sci Food. 2023 May 20;7(1):19. doi: 10.1038/s41538-023-00196-0.

Authors

Suraphan Panyod^#^{1

2}, Wei-Kai Wu^#^{3

4}, Sin-Yi Peng¹, Yea-Jing Tseng¹, Ya-Chi Hsieh¹, Rou-An Chen¹, Huai-Syuan Huang¹, Yi-Hsun Chen⁴, Hsiao-Li Chuang⁵, Cheng-Chih Hsu⁶, Ting-Chin David Shen⁷, Kai-Chien Yang⁸, Chi-Tang Ho⁹, Ming-Shiang Wu^{10

11}, Lee-Yan Sheen^{12

13

14}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Food Science and Technology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
² Center for Food and Biomolecules, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
³ Department of Medical Research, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
⁴ Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
⁵ National Laboratory Animal Center, National Applied Research Laboratories, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
⁶ Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
⁷ Division of Gastroenterology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, PA, USA.
⁸ Department and Graduate Institute of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
⁹ Department of Food Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. mingshiang@ntu.edu.tw.
¹¹ Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. mingshiang@ntu.edu.tw.
¹² Institute of Food Science and Technology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. lysheen@ntu.edu.tw.
¹³ Center for Food and Biomolecules, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. lysheen@ntu.edu.tw.
¹⁴ National Center for Food Safety Education and Research, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. lysheen@ntu.edu.tw.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Recently, the role of the gut microbiota in diseases, including cardiovascular disease (CVD), has gained considerable research attention. Trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), which is formed during ʟ-carnitine metabolism, promotes the formation of atherosclerotic plaques, causing thrombosis. Here, we elucidated the anti-atherosclerotic effect and mechanism of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) essential oil (GEO) and its bioactive compound citral in Gubra Amylin NASH (GAN) diet with ʟ-carnitine-induced atherosclerosis female ApoE^-/- mice. Treatment with GEO at both low and high doses and citral inhibited the formation of aortic atherosclerotic lesions, improved plasma lipid profile, reduced blood sugar, improved insulin resistance, decreased plasma TMAO levels, and inhibited plasma inflammatory cytokines, especially interleukin-1β. Additionally, GEO and citral treatment modulated gut microbiota diversity and composition by increasing the abundance of beneficial microbes and decreasing the abundance of CVD-related microbes. Overall, these results showed that GEO and citral may serve as potential dietary supplements for CVD prevention by improving gut microbiota dysbiosis.

Abstract

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