Plasma Lipids
Bhaskaran S, Santanam N, Penumetcha M, Parthasarathy S. Inhibition of atherosclerosis in low-density lipoprotein receptor-negative mice by sesame oil. J Med Food. 2006 Winter;9(4):487-90.
Study Abstract
Department of Pathology, Louisiana State University, Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Diet has profound effects on the development of atherosclerosis. Fatty acid composition, antioxidants, and other components such as lignans have major effects on the atherosclerotic process. Sesame oil has both mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acid constituents in equal proportions. In addition, it also has high levels of numerous antioxidants and inducers of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor. The objective of this study was to determine the anti-atherosclerotic effects of sesame oil. In this study, male low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor (LDLR) -/- mice were fed atherogenic diet or atherogenic diet reformulated with the same level of sesame oil (sesame oil diet). Plasma lipids and atherosclerotic lesions were quantified after 3 months of feeding. Sesame oil-containing diet significantly reduced the atherosclerotic lesion formation and plasma cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL cholesterol levels in LDLR -/- mice. These findings suggest that sesame oil could inhibit atherosclerosis lesion formation effectively, perhaps because of the synergistic actions of fatty acid and nonsaponifiable components.
Chen PR, Chien KL, Su TC. Dietary sesame reduces serum cholesterol and enhances antioxidant capacity in hypercholesterolemia. Nutr Res. 2005;25(6): 559-67.
Study Abstract
The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of sesame on lowering serum lipids and enhancing antioxidant capacity in 21 hyperlipidemic patients. Subjects were instructed to consume their regular diet for 2 weeks before starting the experimental diet. The experimental diet with 40 g roasted sesame was consumed for 4 weeks and the regular diet followed for another 4 weeks. Body weights and fasting blood were determined at weeks 0, 4, and 8. The results showed that the diet with sesame significantly decreased the levels of serum total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. The time for erythrocyte hemolysis and the lag phase of LDL oxidation were significantly increased by sesame ingestion. A diet containing sesame slightly reduced the levels of thiobarbituric acid–reactive substances in LDL. The beneficial effects of sesame disappeared when patients returned to their regular diets. Sesame in this study appeared to exert beneficial effects on serum lipids and to improve antioxidant capacity in hypercholesterolemic patients.
Hirose N, Inoue T, Nishihara K, et al. Inhibition of cholesterol absorption and synthesis in rats by sesamin. J Lipid Res. 1991 May;32(4):629-38.
Study Abstract
Laboratory of Nutrition Chemistry, Kyushu University School of Agriculture, Fukuoka, Japan.
The effects of sesamin, a lignan from sesame oil, on various aspects of cholesterol metabolism were examined in rats maintained on various dietary regimens. When given at a dietary level of 0.5% for 4 weeks, sesamin reduced the concentration of serum and liver cholesterol significantly irrespective of the presence or absence of cholesterol in the diet, except for one experiment in which the purified diet free of cholesterol was given. On feeding sesamin, there was a decrease in lymphatic absorption of cholesterol accompanying an increase in fecal excretion of neutral, but not acidic, steroids, particularly when the cholesterol-enriched diet was given. Sesamin inhibited micellar solubility of cholesterol, but not bile acids, whereas it neither bound taurocholate nor affected the absorption of fatty acids. Only a marginal proportion (ca. 0.15%) of sesamin administered intragastrically was recovered in the lymph. There was a significant reduction in the activity of liver microsomal 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase after feeding sesamin, although the activity of hepatic cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase, drug metabolizing enzymes, and alcohol dehydrogenase remained uninfluenced. Although the weight and phospholipid concentration of the liver increased unequivocally on feeding sesamin, the histological examination by microscopy showed no abnormality, and the activity of serum GOT and GPT remained unchanged. Since sesamin lowered both serum and liver cholesterol levels by inhibiting absorption and synthesis of cholesterol simultaneously, it deserves further study as a possible hypocholesterolemic agent of natural origin.
Ikeda S, Kagaya M, Kobayashi K, et al. Dietary sesame lignans decrease lipid peroxidation in rats fed docosahexaenoic acid. J Nut Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2003 Sep;49(4):270-6.
Study Abstract
Department of Food and Nutrition, Sugiyama Jogakuen University, Nagoya 464-8662, Japan.
We have previously reported that dietary sesamin and sesaminol, major lignans of sesame seed, elevate the alpha-tocopherol concentration and decrease the thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) concentration in the plasma and liver of rats. In this study, the effects of dietary sesamin and sesaminol on the lipid peroxidation in the plasma and tissues of rats fed docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6 n-3) were examined. Male Wistar rats (4-wk-old) were divided into the following six experimental groups: control group, fed a basal diet: sesamin group, fed a diet with sesamin (2 g/kg); sesaminol group, fed a diet with sesaminol (2 g/kg); DHA group, fed a diet containing DHA (5 g/kg); DHA + sesamin group, fed a diet containing DHA with sesamin; and DHA + sesaminol group, fed a diet containing DHA with sesaminol. Each diet contained either 0.01 or 0.05 g D-alpha-tocopherol/kg, and the rats were fed the respective experimental diet for 5 wk. The dietary DHA elevated the TBARS concentration and also increased the red blood-cell hemolysis induced by the dialuric acid. The dietary sesamin and sesaminol lowered the TBARS concentrations and decreased the red blood hemolysis. The dietary sesamin and sesaminol elevated the alpha-tocopherol concentrations in the plasma, liver, and brain of the rats fed a diet with or without DHA. These results suggest that dietary sesame lignans decrease lipid peroxidation as a result of elevating the alpha-tocopherol concentration in rats fed DHA.
Kang MH, Kawai Y, Naito M, Osawa T. Dietary defatted sesame flour decreases susceptibility to oxidative stress in hypercholesterolemic rabbits. J Nutr. 1999 Nov;129(10):1885-90.
Study Abstract
Laboratory of Food and Biodynamics, Nagoya University Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan.
Plant glucosides possess antioxidative properties due to their ability to scavenge free radicals. Sesame seeds contain a class of these compounds, the sesaminol glucosides. To evaluate their antioxidative activity in vivo, we fed rabbits diets containing 1% cholesterol (Chol) with or without 10% defatted sesame flour (DSF) (containing 1% sesaminol glucosides) for 90 d. We determined the susceptibility of their tissues to oxidation ex vivo as well as serum total cholesterol (TC), phospholipid (PL), triglyceride (TG) and HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) concentrations. Serum TC, HDL-C, PL and TG levels were unaffected by the addition of DSF. The HDL-C in the Chol + DSF group was greater than in the Chol group at 45 d. Both were greater than in the groups that did not consume cholesterol. Liver TC and TG were significantly lower in rabbits fed the diet containing DSF plus 1% cholesterol than in those fed 1% cholesterol alone. Lipid peroxidation activity, measured as 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), was lower in the liver (P < 0.05) and serum (P = 0.06) of rabbits fed DSF plus cholesterol than in rabbits fed the cholesterol diet. Although we did not detect sesaminol glucosides in peripheral tissues, we observed abundant quantities of sesaminol in rabbits fed DSF, the principal metabolite. Our findings suggest that feeding DSF to rabbits does not protect cholesterol-induced hypercholesterolemia, but may decrease susceptibility to oxidative stress in rabbits fed cholesterol, perhaps due to the antioxidative activity of sesaminol.
Nakabayashi A, Kitagawa Y, Suwa Y, et al. Alpha-tocopherol enhances the hypocholesterolemic action of sesamin in rats. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 1995;65(3):162-8.
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