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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Little Rock, Arkansas » Microbiome and Metabolism Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #271093
Title: Phenolic acids are in vivo atheroprotective compounds appearing in serum of rats after blueberry consumption

Author
item XIE, CHENGHUI - Arkansas Children'S Nutrition Research Center (ACNC)
item KANG, JIE - Arkansas Children'S Nutrition Research Center (ACNC)
item CHEN, JINRAN - Arkansas Children'S Nutrition Research Center (ACNC)
item NAGARAJAN, SHANMUGAM - Arkansas Children'S Nutrition Research Center (ACNC)
item Badger, Thomas - Arkansas Children'S Nutrition Research Center (ACNC)
item WU, XIANLI - Arkansas Children'S Nutrition Research Center (ACNC)

Submitted to: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/25/2011
Publication Date: 9/28/2011
Citation: Xie, C., Kang, J., Chen, J., Nagarajan, S., Badger, T.M., Wu, X. 2011. Phenolic acids are in vivo atheroprotective compounds appearing in serum of rats after blueberry consumption. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 59(18):10381-10387.

Interpretive Summary: Blueberries (BB) have recently been shown to have cardio-protective effects and prevention of atherosclerosis in rodent models. However, the bioactive compounds in BB responsible for these effects have not yet been characterized. Seven phenolic acids were identified as metabolites in serum of rats fed diets supplemented with 10% freeze-dried BB. In this study, these seven compounds (7PA) were evaluated for their potential athero-protective effects in murine macrophage cell line RAW264.7. The present study demonstrates that a mixture of seven phenolic acids reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine production and attenuated foam cell formation in vitro. These results suggest that certain phenolic acids are potential in vivo athero-protective compounds following BB consumption in rodent model.

Technical Abstract: Blueberries (BB) have recently been shown to have cardio-protective effects and prevention of atherosclerosis in rodent models. However, the bioactive compounds in BB responsible for these effects have not yet been characterized. Seven phenolic acids were identified as metabolites in serum of rats fed diets supplemented with 10% freeze-dried BB. In this study, these seven compounds (7PA) were evaluated for their potential athero-protective effects in murine macrophage cell line RAW264.7. Seven compounds (7PA) was found to inhibit LPS-induced mRNA expression and protein levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-a, and IL-6 by reducing MAPK JNK, p38 and Erk1/2 phosphorylation. After treatment with 7PA for two weeks, mRNA expression and protein levels of scavenger receptor CD36 were decreased (P<0.05), while type A scavenger receptor (SR-A) remained unchanged. Moreover, foam cell formation induced by oxLDL and oxLDL binding to macrophages was also inhibited by 7PA. In addition, 7PA increased (P<0.05) expression and protein levels of ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1), which facilitated cholesterol efflux and reduced cholesterol accumulation in macrophages. In summary, the present study demonstrates that a mixture of seven phenolic acids, which were found in serum of rats, fed BB-containing diets, reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine production and attenuated foam cell formation in vitro. These results suggest that certain phenolic acids are potential in vivo athero-protective compounds following BB consumption in rodent model. Since BB contain many phytochemicals, other as yet unidentified bioactive compounds may also be important in preventing atherosclerosis.