Pomegranate Protection against Cardiovascular Diseases
Figure 12
The effect of pomegranate extracts consumption by E0 mice on atherosclerotic lesion development and on the mice peritoneal macrophages atherogenicity. Fifty male E0 mice (6 weeks old) were divided into five groups of 10 mice each. The placebo group received only water. The other four groups received in their drinking water 200 μg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/mouse/day of: PJ, POMxp, POMarils, or POMflower for a 3-month period. At the end of pomegranate extracts consumption, the mice peritoneal macrophages (MPM), as well as the mice aortas were harvested. (a) Atherosclerotic lesion size in the mice aortas. (b) Macrophage total peroxides content was determined by the DCFH assay. (c) The extent of Ox-LDL (25 μg of protein/mL, labeled with FITC) uptake by the mice macrophages was determined using flow cytometry. (d) The mice macrophages were prelabeled with [3H]-cholesterol for 1 hour. Then, the cells were washed and further incubated for 3 hours at 37°C without or with HDL (100 μg of protein/mL). The extent of HDL-mediated cholesterol efflux was determined. Results are given as mean ± S.D of three different determinations. * versus Placebo.
