Effects of catechins and caffeine on the development of atherosclerosis in mice.

Atherosclerosis is one of the diseases related to metabolic syndrome which is caused by obesity. Previous reports have shown that green tea and its components have anti-obesity effect. We examined whether catechins and caffeine can prevent the development of atherosclerosis by oral administration, singly or in combination to the atherosclerosis model mice. Results demonstrated that the number of atherosclerotic regions in the aorta was significantly reduced by the combined treatment, and the atherosclerotic area was also improved. Serum HDL-C increased by caffeine single treatment, but no effect on the TG and TC by any treatments. Moreover, ECG illuviated to atheromatous lesions in aorta and the illuviation was enhanced by caffeine. The mRNA expression levels of LOX-1 and TNF-α showed a tendency to suppress by the combined treatment. These results indicated that the combined administration of catechins and caffeine has the inhibitory effect on the development of atherosclerosis in mice.