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CARDIOVASCULAR JOURNAL OF AFRICA • Volume 30, No 4, July/August 2019
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AFRICA
less in those born to hypercholesterolaemic mothers fed on cocoa
(HCC). Collagen and elastic fibre content of sections from the
thoracic aorta did not show obvious differences between the two
groups (Fig. 6).
Discussion
The causal role of maternal hypercholesterolaemia in foetal
atherogenesis has been established and evidence suggests that
both lipid-lowering and antioxidant interventions during
pregnancy may inhibit atherosclerosis.
6
Previously, researchers
seldom considered maternal hypercholesterolaemia to
promote atherosclerosis in offspring because the placenta was
thought to be impermeable to cholesterol and also because
cholesterol levels of newborns were not correlated with maternal
hypercholesterolaemia.
30,31
However, results from later studies have
shown that serum cholesterol level is increased in early foetal life,
31
and the Fate of Early Lesions in Children (FELIC) study showed
that increased maternal cholesterol levels enhanced the formation
of fatty streaks in foetuses. Although with age, cholesterol levels
in foetuses decrease, maternal hypercholesterolaemia increases
the progression of atherosclerosis later in life.
16
In this study, plasma cholesterol levels were significantly
high in offspring of normocholesterolaemic as well as
hypercholesterolaemic rabbits. Offspring of hypercholesterol-
aemic mothers that received cocoa powder, however, showed
reduced cholesterol levels compared to the other two groups,
suggesting that consumption of cocoa during pregnancy may
reduce plasma cholesterol levels in the offspring of rabbits. It is
not clear from this study the mechanism by which cocoa reduced
plasma cholesterol levels of the offspring, however, this could
have been due to antioxidant activity, as has already been shown
by Napoli and colleagues.
6,26
Interestingly, plasma cholesterol level was highest in
offspring of normocholesterolaemic rabbits and this may have
been because pregnancy induces a temporary condition of
hypercholesterolaemia necessary for the normal development of
the foetus.
18
However, beyond certain physiological levels, this
NC
HC
HCC
Fig. 5.
Micrographs at different magnifications of Oil red O-stained sections of the descending thoracic aorta of offspring. (A) shows
a whole section of the aortic arch. (B) and (C) show sections of thoracic aorta with atherosclerotic lesions. Sections from
the NC pups show no lesions, whereas sections from the HC and HCC pups show the presence of atherosclerotic lesions.
A
B
C