Baicalein Neutralizes Hypercholesterolemia-Induced Aggravation of Oxidative Injury in Rats

Abstract

Hypercholesterolemia is a major risk factor for several cardiovascular and metabolic diseases as it triggers oxidative and pro-inflammatory cascades. Baicalein (BL) is a natural flavone with multiple therapeutic properties. The present study aimed to evaluate the potential protective effect of BL supplementation in hypercholesterolaemic rats. Rats were fed a high-cholesterol diet (HCD) for six weeks and then orally administered BL at two doses (25 and 50 mg/kg body weight/day) for four weeks. Serum lipids, liver enzymes, cardiac enzymes, renal markers, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-10 (IL-10), caspase-3, nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin-2 (PGE-2) were measured. In renal, hepatic, and cardiac tissues, thiobarbituric acid-reactive (TBARS) substance, glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities were measured. The altered levels of lipoproteins, aminotransferases, creatine kinases, and urea in hypercholesterolemic animals were significantly corrected by BL. Inflammatory and apoptotic biomarkers were also markedly attenuated in the HCD group following BL treatment. Hypercholesterolemia considerably induced the lipid peroxidation product, TBARS, and oxidative radicals in cardiac, hepatic, and renal tissues, which were attenuated by BL treatment, particularly, at the 50 mg/kg/day dose. BL enhanced the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase that were suppressed by HCD. Histological alterations induced by cholesterol overload in cardiac, hepatic, and renal tissues were ameliorated by BL supplementation. Our results show that the BL treatments (25 and 50 mg/kg/day) to HCD fed rats improved all the altered parameters. These results demonstrate that BL treatment improves cardiac, renal and hepatic dysfunctions in hypercholesterolaemic rats by activation of cellular antioxidant enzymes and/or suppression of inflammatory cytokines.

RETRACTED: Histological, ultrastructural and immunohistochemical studies on the ameliorative role of Cinnamon zeylanicum against high cholesterol diet-induced hypercholesterolemia in the kidney of adult male albino rats

“…(2020) found that mice fed HCD showed extensive foci of hemorrhage and some necrotic renal tubular cells associated with an impairment in kidney function which may be referred to as a defect in the cell membranes permeability and integrity. In agreement with the siting results, Al Saad et al. (2020) found that hypercholesterolemia caused glomerular basal membrane thickening, dilated glomerular capillaries lumens and mononuclear cells aggregation.…”

Vine Tea (Ampelopsis grossedentata) Extract Attenuates CCl4‐Induced Liver Injury by Restoring Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis in Mice

“…[ 1–3 ] The pathogenesis of ALI includes recurrent liver inflammation, steatosis, oxidative stress, and focal hepatocyte necrosis. [ 4,5 ] ALI is sudden liver damage occurring in a short period and can cause life‐threatening issues like coagulopathy and high mortality. At present, liver transplantation is a common clinical treatment strategy for ALI.…”

Baicalein Prevents Fructose-Induced Hepatic Steatosis in Rats: In the Regulation of Fatty Acid De Novo Synthesis, Fatty Acid Elongation and Fatty Acid Oxidation

“…Baicalein (BAL, NCBI CID: 5281605), a major flavonoid compound isolated from the roots of the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (Labiatae), has been used to treat liver disease for thousands of years in TCM clinical practice ( Li-Weber, 2009 ; Dang et al, 2019 ). Previous studies indicated that BAL can protect the liver from high-fat diet (HFD)-induced hepatic steatosis, lipopolysaccharides (LPS)/ d -galactosamine (D-gal) and high-cholesterol diet (HCD)-induced liver injury by maintaining V-ATPase assembly, antioxidant stress and anti-inflammatory effect, respectively ( Alsaad et al, 2020 ; Zhu et al, 2020 ; Xiao et al, 2021 ). Importantly, it was observed that high oral doses of BAL (100–2,800 mg) were safe and well-tolerated in healthy subjects, implying that BAL is a promising natural product for clinical use ( Li et al, 2014 ).…”