Intravenous Curcumin Mitigates Atherosclerosis Progression in Cholesterol-Fed Rabbits

Orally administered curcumin has been found to have a moderate therapeutic effect on dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis. The present study was conducted to determine lipid-modulating and antiatherosclerosis effects of injectable curcumin in the rabbit model of atherosclerosis induced by a high cholesterol diet (HCD). New Zealand white male rabbits were fed on a normal chow enriched with 0.5% (w/w) cholesterol for 8 weeks. Atherosclerotic rabbits were randomly divided into three groups, including a control group receiving intravenous (IV) injection of the saline buffer, two treatment groups receiving IV administration of the injectable curcumin at low (1 mg/kg/week) and high (10 mg/kg/week) over 4 weeks. Plasma lipid parameters, including low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TG), and total cholesterol (TC) were measured. Aortic arch atherosclerotic lesions were assessed using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. The low dose of curcumin significantly reduced plasma levels of TC, LDL-C, and TG by −14.19 ± 5.19%, −6.22 ± 1.77%, and − 29.84 ± 10.14%, respectively, and increased HDL-C by 14.05 ± 6.39% (p < 0.05). High dose of curcumin exerted greater lipid-modifying effects, in which plasma levels of TC, LDL-C, and TG were significantly (p < 0.05) decreased by −56.59 ± 10.22%, −44.36 ± 3.24%, and − 25.92 ± 5.57%, respectively, and HDL-C was significantly increased by 36.24 ± 12.5%. H&E staining showed that the lesion severity was lowered significantly in the high dose (p = 0.03) but not significantly (p > 0.05) in the low-dose curcumin groups, compared to control rabbits. The median (interquartile range) of plaque grades in the high dose and low dose, and control groups was found to be 2 [2-3], 3 [2-3], and 4 [3-4], respectively. The injectable curcumin could significantly improve dyslipidemia and alleviate atherosclerotic lesion in HCD-induced atherosclerotic rabbits.