Previous studies have demonstrated that the ingestion of açaí pulp can improve serum lipid profile in various animal models; therefore, we hypothesized that açaí pulp (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) may modulate the expression of the genes involved in cholesterol homeostasis in the liver and increase fecal excretion, thus reducing serum cholesterol. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed the expression ...

ABC (ATP-binding cassette) proteins actively transport a wide variety of substrates, including peptides, amino acids, sugars, metals, drugs, vitamins and lipids, across extracellular and intracellular membranes. Of the 49 hum an ABC proteins, a significant number are known to mediate the extrusion of lipids from membranes or the flipping of membrane lipids across the bilayer to generate and mai...

Dietary patterns with cardiovascular benefits have been recommended, but the relative contributions of individual foods and food components, alone or in combination, remain undefined. Male ApoE−/− mice were fed either a purified AIN-93G control diet, a Western diet (WD), or a WD with 10% tomato powder (TP), 2% soy germ (SG), or the combination, for 4 wk (n = 10 per group). Plasma total choleste...

BACKGROUND Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are one kind of persistent organic pollutants. Although they are reported to be associated with metabolic disorders, the underlying mechanism is unclear. We explored the association of OCPs with gallstone disease and its influence on hepatic lipid metabolism. MATERIALS AND METHODS OCPs levels in omentum adipose tissues from patients with and without...

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a polyphenol-rich Açaí seed extract (ASE, 300 mg/kg-1d-1) on adiposity and hepatic steatosis in mice that were fed a high-fat (HF) diet and its underlying mechanisms based on hepatic lipid metabolism and oxidative stress. Four groups were studied: C57BL/6 mice that were fed with standard diet (10% fat, Control), 10% fat + ASE (ASE), 60% fat...

Hypercholesterolemia is the primary risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Recent studies reported that stimulation of transintestinal cholesterol excretion (TICE), a nonbiliary excretion, can be strategy preventing CVD. Black elderberry (Sambucus nigra) has been to reduce CVD via its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and hypocholesterolemic effects. However, little known about role black ...