Study of the anti-atherosclerosis effects of extract of Ginkgo Biloba

OBJECTIVE To explore whether the extract of Ginkgo Biloba produce(EGB)induces heme oxygenase-1(HO-1)expression to play an anti-atherosclerosis role.METHODS 40 male Wista rats were randomly divided into group A,group B,group C,group D and group E.Group A was given normal diet while the other groups received high-fat diet.Group C,group D,group E were intra-peritoneal injected with EGB(30mg/kg),ZnPPⅨ(7.5mg/kg),EGB(30mg/kg)+ ZnPPⅨ(7.5mg/kg)respectively.Group A,group B were intra-peritoneal injected with equal volume saline.12 weeks later,the expression and activity of aorta HO-1 protein and the atherosclerosis degree were examined.RESULTS Compared with group A,the expression and activity of HO-1 protein were increased significantly(P﹤0.05 respectively)in group B and group C but decreased significantly(P﹤0.05 respectively)in group D and group E(P﹤0.05 respectively).Compared with group B,the atherosclerosis degree in group C were reduced obviously(P﹤0.05)but sharpened significantly in group D and group E(P﹤0.05 respectively).CONCLUSION The marked anti-atherosclerosis role of EGB is mainly mediated by inducing heme oxygenase-1 expression.