Effects of oleogels (alpha-linolenic acid plus beeswax) extracted supplementation for approaching the therapeutic food ingredient: in vitro model

The dietary fatty acid intake for vascular disease has been highlighted for a decade. This study aimed to determine the effect of palmitic acid and fatty acid-incorporated beeswax (oleogels: OG) supplementation on anti-atherosclerotic effects through vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) activity. The A7r5 cells were cultured, cells were treated with three treatments, including 1) control, 2) palmitic acid (PA), and 3) alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) + beeswax, ratio 1:1 (OG) at different concentrations of 0, 25, 50 and 100 μM for 48 hrs. Cell proliferation, cell apoptosis, wound repair, and relative quantity of mRNA level of inflammatory cytokines and angiogenetic transcription factors were determined. The results showed there was a significantly reduced VSMCs proliferation with concentrationdependent (p < 0.05). In the presence of OG at 100 μM, the wound area had healed after 24 hrs (59.2%) compared to PA (28.0%) group treatments. OG and PA supplementation significantly up-regulated eNOS and VEGF but down-regulated the TNF-α, CRP, CD36, iNOS, and NF-κB mRNA expression levels, while PA was a contrasting pattern (p < 0.05). Therefore, supplementation of OG reduced the pro-inflammatory effects of inflammatory cytokines in macrophages and induced VEGF expression in VSMCs, contributing to anti-atherosclerotic effect.