Carrot Supplementation Improves Blood Pressure and Reduces Aortic Root Lesions in an Atherosclerosis-Prone Genetic Mouse Model

Abstract

Epidemiological studies have shown that carrot consumption may be associated with a lower risk of developing several metabolic dysfunctions. Our group previously determined that the Bolero (Bo) carrot variety exhibited vascular and hepatic tropism using cellular models of cardiometabolic diseases. The present study evaluated the potential metabolic and cardiovascular protective effect of Bo, grown under two conditions (standard and biotic stress conditions (BoBS)), in apolipoprotein E-knockout (ApoE−/−) mice fed with high fat diet (HFD). Effects on metabolic/hemodynamic parameters and on atherosclerotic lesions have been assessed. Both Bo and BoBS decreased plasma triglyceride and expression levels of genes implicated in hepatic de novo lipogenesis and lipid oxidation. BoBS supplementation decreased body weight gain, secretion of very-low-density lipoprotein, and increased cecal propionate content. Interestingly, Bo and BoBS supplementation improved hemodynamic parameters by decreasing systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressure. Moreover, Bo improved cardiac output. Finally, Bo and BoBS substantially reduced the aortic root lesion area. These results showed that Bo and BoBS enriched diets corrected most of the metabolic and cardiovascular disorders in an atherosclerosis-prone genetic mouse model and may therefore represent an interesting nutritional approach for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

The Valorization of Agro-Wastes and Stevia Leaves as a Sugar Replacer in Cupcake Formulas: Histological and In Vivo Studies on Diabetic Rats

“…This lipid-lowering effect could potentially prevent cardiovascular disease in diabetes, which is also supported by the decreased glucose levels in the treated groups, as discussed in Table 6. The previous findings agreed with Soleti et al [53], where a high-fat diet with carrot supplement showed antihyperglycemic and lipid-lowering activities due to its effect on improving pancreatic β-cells function. It has been established that various metabolic and regulatory abnormalities that occur during diabetes lead to hyperlipidemic conditions in people with diabetes, while increased TC, LDL-C, and TG levels in the blood cause diabetic dyslipidemia [71].…”

“…Additionally, the diabetic groups that consumed different types of fibers had less food intake daily than the diabetic control group, indicating that dietary fiber intake may help reduce the symptoms of polyphagia in T2DM mice [52]. Along the same line, carrot supplementation induced a time-dependent body weight gain-fed high-fat diet in different groups [53]. To our knowledge, nothing was reported in the literature concerning the effect of dried carrot leaves on nutritional or biochemical parameters.…”

Inverse association of serum carotenoid levels with prevalence of hypertension in the general adult population

“…Moreover, total plasma and serum carotenoid levels <1,000 nmol/L are associated with higher risk of chronic diseases (15). Accumulating evidence supports the protective effects of carotenoids against cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, a crucial risk factor of CVD (16)(17)(18). Recently, the total carotenoid level was shown to be significantly associated with CVD markers, including SBP, pulse wave velocity, Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), blood insulin, triglycerides (TG), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (9).…”