Antiatherosclerosis Properties of Total Saponins of Garlic in Rats

Qing Miao; Ruihai Wang; Dong Bai; Xin Xue; Jing Xu; Xiaoxin Sun; Limei Liu

doi:10.1155/2020/3683659

Antiatherosclerosis Properties of Total Saponins of Garlic in Rats

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2020 Feb 27:2020:3683659. doi: 10.1155/2020/3683659. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Qing Miao¹, Ruihai Wang¹, Dong Bai¹, Xin Xue¹, Jing Xu¹, Xiaoxin Sun¹, Limei Liu¹

Affiliation

¹ Institute of Basic Theory for Chinese Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.

Abstract

Garlic has been proven effective in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis (AS), which is widely used as a food and medicine by people in daily life. Garlic saponins are the main active nonsulfur compounds of garlic, which have a variety of pharmacological activities against cardiovascular diseases. In this study, the antiatherosclerosis properties and mechanism of total saponins of garlic (TSG) in rats were explored. The AS animal model was established by a combination of high-fat feeding, intraperitoneal injection of vitamin D_3, and ovalbumin-induced inflammation in SD rats. Then, the atherosclerotic rats were gavaged daily by TSG for 4 weeks. Administration of TSG markedly decreased atherosclerotic lesions in the aorta of atherosclerotic rats. TSG restored the serum lipid profile by significantly decreasing the lipid levels and had effective antioxidation by inhibiting the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and restoring the reduced activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD). Additionally, the ratio of thromboxane B₂ (TXB₂) and 6-keto-prostaglandin F_1α (6-keto-PGF_1α ) could be maintained in a relatively stable dynamic balance after administration of TSG to maintain the vascular homeostasis. In summary, TSG had therapeutic effects on AS, which are promising as functional foods or nutraceuticals for the prevention and treatment of AS.