Burdock fructooligosaccharide ameliorates the hypercholesterolemia and vascular inflammation in mice by regulating cholesterol homeostasis and anti-inflammatory properties

Abstract

Burdock fructooligosaccharide (BFO) is a type of linear inulin extracted from burdock root. In this study, we studied the effect of BFO in hypercholesterolemic mice model and found that BFO could decrease the total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and oxidized LDL (ox-LDL). BFO also reduce the hepatocyte damage, improve the antioxidant enzymes activity and regulate genes related to the cholesterol homeostasis in liver. Besides, we found that BFO protected the blood vessels by significantly balancing inflammatory cytokines and alleviating the up-regulation of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway in aorta. Furthermore, we established a foam cells model induced by ox-LDL in vitro and found that 500 and 1000 μg/mL BFO could effectively inhibit cell proliferation and reduce the production of intracellular lipids and inflammatory cytokines. Therefore, BFO can reduce the risk of hypercholesterolemia by maintaining cholesterol homeostasis, reducing vascular inflammation and alleviating macrophage foaming to prevent its further development into cardiovascular diseases.

Keywords

• Burdock fructooligosaccharide
• Hypercholesterolemia
• Cholesterol metabolism
• Vascular inflammation
• Foam cell