Black and red peppers attenuates plasma and lipopolysaccharide-induced splenocytes production of tumor necrosis factor-α in mice fed a high-fat, high-sucrose diet

Abstract

Black and red pepper has been used for centuries as spice or food with healthful applications.In this study, male C57BL/6J mice were fed a high-fat (HF) Western-style diet containing 1% dried hot red pepper powder (HF-RP), 1% black pepper (HF-BP) or atorvastatin (HF-A) for 12 weeks. Plasma and splenocytes production of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and plasma and hepatic lipids were measured. Compared to mice fed HF, mice fed HF-RP, HF-BP or HF-A diets showed significantly lower levels of production of TNF-α from splenocytes as well as lower levels in plasma TNF-α. Hepatic cholesterol was lower in HF-RP, HF-BP and HF-A compared to HF group. Plasma low-density lipoproteins cholesterol decreased in HF-A and HF-BP but did not change in HF-RP group. Plasma high-density lipoproteins cholesterol increased significantly in HF-A and HF-RP. These findings suggest that dietary inclusion of peppers may attenuate some cardiometabolic risk markers associated to Western-style diet.

Keywords

• Black pepper
• Red pepper
• TNF-α
• High-fat diet