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Dosage response of atherosclerotic lesions to dietary cholesterol in rabbits

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Abstract

Thirty New Zealand White rabbits were fed diets containing 0 (control), 1, 2, 4, or 8 g cholesterol/kg diet for 12 weeks to determine the cholesterol dosageresponse of plasma cholesterol and triglycerides, and the development of atherosclerosis. The concentration of plasma cholesterol increased proportionally with the dietary cholesterol dosage during the first 4 weeks, then remained constant until the 12th week. The plasma triglycerides and TBARS concentrations gradually increased with feeding time when rabbits were fed 2 g dosages. Aortas from rabbits fed a 2 g dosage developed moderate to severe multifocal or diffusive atherosclerotic lesions. Aortas from rabbits fed 4 and 8 g dosages were diffusely affected with massive atherosclerotic lesions, and had severe calcification and Alcian blue-positive foci throughout the media of the aorta. These results indicate that at least 2 g of cholesterol/kg in the diet is needed to generate atherosclerotic lesions in rabbit aortas.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Food Science and Technology Program, Department of Agriculture, Food, and Resource Sciences, University Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, MD, 21853, USA

    Byungrok Min

  2. Department of Animal Science and Technology, Sunchon National University, Jeonnam, 540-742, Korea

    Ki Chang Nam

  3. Department of Animal Science, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164-6310, USA

    Min Du

  4. Department of Veterinary Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    Kathleen Mullin

  5. Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    Dong Uk Ahn

  6. WCU Biomodulation, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-921, Korea

    Dong Uk Ahn

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  1. Byungrok Min
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  2. Ki Chang Nam
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  3. Min Du
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  4. Kathleen Mullin
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  5. Dong Uk Ahn
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Correspondence to Dong Uk Ahn.

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Min, B., Nam, K.C., Du, M. et al. Dosage response of atherosclerotic lesions to dietary cholesterol in rabbits. Food Sci Biotechnol 22, 1–7 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-013-0234-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-013-0234-2

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