INDUCTION OF PEROXISOMAL FATTY ACYL-COENZYME A-OXIDASE AND TOTAL CARNITINE ACETYL-COENZYME A-TRANSFERASE IN PRIMARY CULTURES OF RAT HEPATOCYTES BY GARLIC EXTRACTS
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Date
1992
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Abstract
Garlic has been proposed as a natural hypolipidemic substance. Most hypolipidemic compounds induce peroxisomal proliferation and increase enzyme activities associated with peroxisomal beta-oxidation in rat liver. Here we report that garlic methanol-extracts behave as hypolipidemic drugs, increasing the activity of peroxisomal fatty acyl-coenzyme A oxidase and of total carnitine acetyl-coenzyme A transferase in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes. Both enzymes are considered markers associated with increased peroxisomal beta-oxidation. As in the case of hypolipidemic peroxisome proliferators, garlic extracts partially prevented the decrease in fatty acyl-coenzyme A oxidase as the culture aged. No changes were observed in the activity of microsomal NADPH cytochrome c reductase or of mitochondrial glutamate dehydrogenase.
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PEROXISOMES, HYPOLIPIDEMIC, GARLIC, HEPATOCYTES, CULTURES