The effect of ginger on experimentally induced atherosclerosis in the aorta of rabbits: a histological and immunohistochemical study

Abstract

Background Atherosclerosis is a major disease of arteries, related to age and plasma cholesterol levels. Objective The objective of this study was to investigate the possible effects of ginger on experimentally induced atherosclerosis in the aorta of rabbits. Materials and methods Thirty, male rabbits aged 6 weeks were used in this study and were divided into three groups: group I included 10 male rabbits fed an ordinary diet for an experimental period of 8 weeks; group II included 10 male rabbits fed an ordinary diet mixed with 1% cholesterol powder at a dose of 200 mg/kg body weight for a period of 8 weeks; and group III included 10 rabbits fed an ordinary diet mixed with 1% cholesterol powder and were treated with ginger powder (4 g/kg of the dried rhizome) dissolved in saline solution daily for 8 weeks. The thoracic aorta was dissected and then processed for light microscopic studies. Results Our results showed an apparent decrease in the thickness of both tunica intima and tunica media in the ginger-treated group. There was no intimal invasion of smooth muscle cells. Regular wavy elastic fibers were noticed in the media with apparently normal smooth muscle cells distributed in between. In addition, there was no apparent difference in the CD34 reaction of endothelial cells in the ginger-treated group when compared with the control group. Conclusion Ginger has an attractive role in modulating atherosclerosis in the aorta of rabbits.