The Effect of Fibroin on Lipid Metabolism in Atherosclerosis Model Rats

Objective To study the effects of fibroin on lipid metabolism in atherosclerosis model rats,so as to provide an experimental evidence for the treatment of fibroin in atherosclerosis patients.Methods 40 male SD rats were chosen and fed with high fat diet for 4 weeks to establish atherosclerosis model.All the rats were divided into 5 groups randomly(8 rats in each group),namely group A(atherosclerosis model group),group B(simvastatin-treated group),group C(1 g·kg-1·d-1 fibroin-treated group),group D(2 g·kg-1·d-1 fibroin-treated group) and group E(3 g·kg-1·d-1 fibroin-treated group).Another 8 healthy male SD rats fed with basic diet for 4 weeks were used as group F(blank control group).Rats in group B were treated in the intragastric way with simvastatin turbid liquid at the dose of 10 mg·kg-1·d-1.Rats in C,D and E groups were also treated intragastrically with fibroin at the dose of 1,2 and 3 g·kg-1·d-1 respectively for 8 weeks,while rats in A and F groups were treated with the same volume normal saline in the same manner.Fasting serum lipids and antioxidant enzymes were assayed respectively before and after treatment.The microstructure of vascular endothelial cells were observed at the end of experiment.Results At the end of experiment,compared with group A,total cholesterol(TC),triglyceride(TG) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C) of other groups decreased obviously(P 0.05),while high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C) increased significantly in group E(P 0.05).Besides serum superoxide dismutase(SOD) activity increased clearly in all three fibroin-treated groups(P 0.05).Finally,the microstructural impairment of aorta resulted from high fat diet was improved evidently by all three fibroin-treated groups.Conclusions Fibroin is effective in improving lipid metabolism in atherosclerosis model rats induced by high fat diet.