Improvement of Hypertriglyceridemia by Roasted Nelumbinis folium in High Fat/High Cholesterol Diet Rat Model

Hypertriglyceridemia is a condition characterized by high triglyceride levels and is a major risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases. The present study was designed to investigate the inhibitory effect of roasted Nelumbinis folium (RN), which is a medicinal substance produced by heating lotus leaves, on lipid metabolism in high fat/cholesterol (HFC) diet-induced hypertriglyceridemia. Except for those in the control group, Sprague–Dawley rats were fed an HFC diet for four weeks to induce hypertriglyceridemia. During the next nine weeks, the control, regular diet; HFC, HFC diet, FLU, fluvastatin (3 mg/kg/day); RNL, RN (100 mg/kg/day); RNH, RN (200 mg/kg/day) were orally administered together with the diet, and the experiments were conducted for a total of 13 weeks. The weight of the epididymal adipose tissue, liver, and heart of rats in the HFC diet group significantly increased compared to those in the control group but improved in the RN-treated group. It was also confirmed that vascular function, which is damaged by an HFC diet, was improved after RN treatment. The levels of insulin, glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein increased in the HFC diet group compared to those in the control group, while the administration of RN attenuated these parameters. In addition, the administration of RN significantly reduced the gene expression of both LXR and SREBP-1, which indicated the inhibitory effect of the biosynthesis of triglycerides caused by RN. The results indicated that RN administration resulted in an improvement in the overall lipid metabolism and a decrease in the concentration of triglycerides in the HFC diet-induced rat model of hypertriglyceridemia. Therefore, our findings suggest that the RN can be a candidate material to provide a new direction for treating hypertriglyceridemia.

Bioinformatics Study on Serum Triglyceride Levels for Analysis of a Potential Risk Factor Affecting Blood Pressure Variability

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to establish whether Triglycerides (TGs) are related to Blood Pressure (BP) variability and whether controlling TG levels leads to better BP variability management and prevents Cardiovascular Disease (CVD).

Methods:

In this study, we enrolled 106 hypertensive patients and 80 non-hypertensive patients. Pearson correlation and partial correlation analyses were used to define the relationships between TG levels and BP variability in all subjects. Patients with hypertension were divided into two subgroups according to TG level: Group A (TG<1.7 mmol/L) and Group B (TG>=1.7 mmol/L). The heterogeneity between the two subgroups was compared using t tests and covariance analysis.

Results:

TG levels and BP variability were significantly different between the hypertensive and non-hypertensive patients. Two-tailed Pearson correlation tests showed that TG levels are positively associated with many BP variability measures in all subjects. After reducing other confounding factors, the partial correlation analysis revealed that TG levels are still related to the Standard Deviation (SD), Coefficient of Variation (CV) of nighttime systolic blood pressure and CV of nighttime diastolic blood pressure, respectively (each p<0.05). In the subgroups, group A had a lower SD of nighttime Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP_night_SD; 11.39±3.80 and 13.39±4.16, p=0.011), CV of nighttime systolic blood pressure (SBP_night_CV; 0.09±0.03 and 0.11±0.03, p=0.014) and average real variability of nighttime systolic blood pressure (SBP_night_ARV; 10.99±3.98 and 12.6±3.95, p=0.024) compared with group B, even after adjusting for age and other lipid indicators.

Conclusion:

TG levels are significantly associated with BP variability and hypertriglyceridemia, which affects blood pressure variability before causing target organ damage.

Serum Lipid Levels in Relation to Consumption of Yogurt: The 2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Background

The purpose of this study was to evaluate serum lipid levels in Korean adults after consumption of different types of yogurt.

Methods

Study subjects were 3,038 individuals (≥19 years of age) who participated in the 2012 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Yogurt intake was assessed with a food frequency questionnaire by using the 24-hour recall method. We conducted complex samples general linear analysis with adjustment for covariates.

Results

The serum triglyceride levels in the group consuming viscous yogurt were lower than those in the group consuming non-viscous yogurt.

Conclusion

Consumption of viscous yogurt is associated with low serum triglyceride levels in Korean adults.