Diet-Induced Arteriosclerosis

Hunjadi et al. investigated whether Matcha Green Tea Powder modulates the HDL function and thereby influences the atherogenic process in an animal model with a strong influence on humans situation.

After a pretreatment phase based on a standard diet, ten female NZW rabbits were fed a high-fat diet for 20 weeks. The treatment group was additionally administered 1% matcha during the whole experiment. Long-term matcha treatment led to lowered HDL cholesterol, impaired cholesterol transport manifested by reduced in vitro cholesterol efflux capacity, reduced CETP-mediated cholesterol ester (CE) transfer between HDL and triglyceride-rich particles, and reduced macrophage-specific in vivo transfer, where we observed increased absorption of cholesterol in the liver but a decreased secretion into bile. Pulse wave velocity, assessed by nuclear magnetic resonance, was increased in matcha-treated animals, and a similar trend was observed for atherosclerotic lesion formation.

Long-term matcha green tea treatment of hypercholesterolemic rabbits caused impaired reverse cholesterol transport and increased vascular stiffness, and susceptibility for atherosclerotic lesion development. ¹⁾