Protective Effects of Tea Saponins Derived from Gynostemmapenta phyllum Against High Dietary Choline-Induced Endothelial Injury in Mice

Abstract:

This studyexplored the vascular endothelialdamages in the mice fed high-choline diet（3%），andthe possible vasoprotective effects of tea saponins in Gynostemma pentaphyllum（TSGP）.After mice fed 3% high choline water for continuous8 weeks，the serumlevels of eNOS，NO and PGI2significantly reduced（p<0.01），while the serumlevels of ET-1 and TXA2 remarkably increased（p<0.01）. Furthermore，the further histopathological observation by conventional H&Ealsosuggested thatvascular endothelialdamages vascularhappened in thoracic aorta after feeding 3% high-choline diet for 8 weeks. However，the TSGP remarkably ameliorated the aboveserum biochemical indexsand the histological section after treating with TSGP for 8 weeks（p<0.05，p<0.01）. This results showing that high intake of dietary choline may inducevascular endothelial dysfunction，while TSGPexerted a significant protective effect on the choline-induced vascular endothelialinjury and isa kind of potential nutrients to prevent cardiovascular damage.