Cinnamaldehyde Mitigates Atherosclerosis Induced by High-Fat Diet via Modulation of Hyperlipidemia, Oxidative Stress, and Inflammation

Abstract

Atherosclerosis is a disease in which plaque builds up inside arteries. Cinnamaldehyde (Ci) has many biological properties that include anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. Thus, this study was designed to explore the protective effect of Ci against atherosclerosis induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) in Wistar rats. Atherosclerosis was induced by an oral administration of an HFD for 10 weeks. Atherosclerosis-induced rats were supplemented with Ci at a dose of 20 mg/kg bw dissolved in 0.5% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), daily by oral gavage for the same period. Rats were divided into three groups of 10 rats each fed with (a) ND, (b) HFD, and (c) HFD+Ci, daily for 10 weeks. Treatment of rats with Ci significantly reduced the elevated levels of serum total cholesterol (T.Ch), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-Ch), very low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (VLDL-Ch), and free fatty acids (FFAs) and significantly increased the lowered levels of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-Ch) level. Ci ameliorated the increased cardiovascular risk indices 1 and 2 and the decreased antiatherogenic index. Moreover, Ci reduced the elevated serum creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities. Ci also improved the heart antioxidant activities by decreasing malondialdehyde (MDA) and increasing glutathione S-transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), reduced glutathione (GSH), and glutathione peroxidase (Gpx) activities. Furthermore, the supplementation with Ci downregulated the mRNA expression levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-17 (IL-17), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Thus, Ci successfully elicited a therapeutic impact against atherosclerosis induced by HFD via its hypolipidemic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory actions.

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

“…Cholesterol is an important type of lipid (sterol) as it is involved in the structure of cell membrane, synthesis of steroid hormones, bile acid and vitamin D ( Damodaran et al., 2007 ). Hyperlipidemia is characterized by increasing levels of cholesterol and triglycerides ( Villegas Vílchez et al., 2022 ), very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( Riyad et al., 2022 ), free fatty acids as well as reduced levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( Ismail et al., 2022 ). Riyad et al.…”

“…Riyad et al. (2022) described hyperlipidemia as having decreased levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and increased levels of free fatty acids, very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides ( Ismail et al., 2022 ; Villegas Vlchez et al., 2022 ). Fast food or cholesterol-rich food contains saturated fat or trans-fat may increase the levels of cholesterol and cause hypercholesterolemia ( Chiras, 2013 ).…”

Cinnamaldehyde regulates mitochondrial quality against hydrogen peroxide induced apoptosis in mouse lung mesenchymal stem cells via the PINK1/Parkin signaling pathway

“…Cinnamaldehyde (CA) is a kind of monomer derived from Cinnamomum cassia with many biological properties, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties ( Doyle & Stephens, 2019 ; Ismail et al, 2022 ). The antioxidant effects of CA are widely recognized and it has even recently been used as a cancer-specific oxidative stress amplification nanomedicine ( Wang et al, 2022a ).…”

Advances in pharmacological effects and mechanism of action of cinnamaldehyde

“…Basma S. ( Ismail et al, 2022 ). Ismail et al, examined atherosclerosis induced by a high-fat diet for 10 weeks in experimental rats.…”