Lipid oxidation products plasma lowering

Recent research using NMR has revealed novel noninvasive biomarkers for peroxisomal proliferation. These are two breakdown products of NAD detectable in plasma by HPLC. These reflect the increased demand and production of NAD for oxidation metabolism such as (3-oxidation of fatty acids. This biomarker will be useful in studies in humans, especially clinical trials of more potent lipid-lowering drugs. 

Asai et al. (1999) determined that phospholipid hydroperoxides (PLOOH) are key products for oxidative injury in membranous phospholipid layers in the plasma, red blood cells (RBC), and liver of mice. The formation and accumulation of PLOOH have been confirmed in several cellular disorders, various diseases, and in aging. A lower PLOOH level was found in RBC of the spice-extract-fed mice (65 to 74% of the nonsupplemented control mice). The liver lipid peroxidizability induced with Fe2+/ascorbic acid was effectively suppressed in mice by dietary supplementation with the turmeric and capsicum extracts. Although no difference in the plasma lipids was observed, the liver triacylglycerol concentration of the turmeric-extract-fed mice was markedly reduced to half of the level in the control mice. These findings suggest that these spice extracts could act antioxidatively in vivo by food supplementation, and that the turmeric extract has the ability to prevent the deposition of triacylglycerols in the liver. 

Smoking is considered a risk factor for several diseases associated with oxidative stress [180-183]. Cigarette smoke contains NO and NO2, as well as several lipid per-oxy radicals and free radicals [184]. All these components may serve as substrates for oxidation and generate ONOO", likely furthering the cascade of oxidative damage [184,185]. Smokers also have lower amounts of plasma antioxidants, such as ascorbate and vitamin E [186,187] and the consumption of antioxidants attenuate the production of inflammatory mediators [188]. Evidence also suggests that smoking is... 

---