Dietary vegetable oil and wood derived plant stanol esters reduce atherosclerotic lesion size and severity in apoE*3-Leiden transgenic mice.

O.L. Volger, R.P. Mensink*, G. Hornstra, L.M. Havekes, H.M.G. Princen

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Atherosclerosis 2001 Aug;157(2):375-81 Related Articles, Books, LinkOut


Dietary vegetable oil and wood derived plant stanol esters reduce atherosclerotic lesion size and severity in apoE*3-Leiden transgenic mice.

Volger OL, Mensink RP, Plat J, Hornstra G, Havekes LM, Princen HM.

Gaubius Lab. TNO-PG, PO Box 2215, 2301 CE Leiden, The Netherlands.

The hypolipidemic and anti-atherosclerotic effects of vegetable oil- and wood-based dietary plant stanol esters were compared in female apoE*3-Leiden transgenic mice at relevant plasma cholesterol levels. The plant stanol esters derived from vegetable oil (sitostanol 65.7%, campestanol 30.1%) had different contents of sitostanol and campestanol than the plant stanol esters derived from wood (sitostanol 87.6%, campestanol 9.5%) or from a mixture of vegetable oil and wood (sitostanol 73.0%, campestanol 24.7%). The mice (10 per group) received for 38 weeks a control diet or diets containing 1.0% (w/w) plant stanol esters derived from either vegetable oil, wood or a mixture of both. Vegetable oil (-46%), wood (-42%) and vegetable oil/wood (-51%) plant stanol esters decreased the plasma cholesterol levels (P<0.0001) by reducing the cholesterol content in plasma very low density-, intermediate density- and to a lesser extent in low density-lipoprotein. Plant stanol ester feeding did not change plasma triglyceride levels. Dietary plant stanol esters reduced the atherosclerotic lesion area by 91+/-13% (vegetable oil), 97+/-4% (wood) and 78+/-34% (vegetable oil/wood) (P<0.0001) and the severity from regular intimal fatty streaks/mild plaques (on average type 2--3 lesions) in controls to individual intimal foam cells (<type 1 lesions) in the treatment groups (P<0.0001). Plant stanol esters had no effect on adherence of monocytes to the vessel wall. Feeding of plant stanol esters dramatically reduced, independent of its sources, the extent and severity of atherosclerotic lesions, by decreasing VLDL-, IDL- and to a lesser extent LDL-cholesterol in apoE*3-Leiden transgenic mice.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)375-381
Number of pages7
JournalAtherosclerosis
Volume157
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2001

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