Effect of coenzyme Q10 and Ardisia japonica Blume on plasma and liver lipids, platelet aggregation, and erythrocyte Na efflux channels in simvastatin-treated guinea pigs

Forty guinea pigs were divided into four groups and fed 0.04% cholesterol based control diet, plus 0.05% simvastatin, and statin plus 0.1% CoQ10 or 10% Ardisia Japonica Blume (AJB) leave powder for 4 weeks. Plasma total cholesterol levels decreased significantly in all groups fed the statin-containing diet compared with that in guinea pigs fed the control diet (P less than 0.01). Plasma and liver triglycerides decreased significantly in the statin plus CoQ10 group compared with those in the control (both P less than 0.05). Maximum platelet aggregation was significantly higher in the statin plus CoQ10 group than that in the other groups (P less than 0.05). Na-K ATPase activity increased in the statin group and decreased in the statin plus CoQ10 group (P less than 0.01). Na-K co-transport and Na passive transport decreased significantly in the control group compared with those in the other groups (both P less than 0.05). Intracellular Na was highest in the statin group and lowest in the statin plus CoQ10 group and was correlated with Na-K ATPase activity. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substance production in platelet-rich plasma and liver tended to decrease in the statin plus CoQ10 group compared with those in the other groups. Plasma glutamic-pyruvic transaminase and glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase increased significantly in the statin group compared with those in the control (P less than 0.05). These result suggest that antioxidant rich AJB did not have positive effects on cardiovascular disease parameters. The statin plus CoQ10 seemed to decrease cholesterol more efficiently than that of statin alone.