Background: Hypercholesterolemia indirectly increases the risk of myocardial infarction by enhancing platelet aggregation. Chromium has been shown to lower plasma lipids.
Aim: This study was designed to investigate whether chromium inhibits platelet aggregation under hypercholesterolemic conditions.
Methods: Albino rats were divided into four groups: control rats fed with a normolipemic diet (NLD group), chromium-supplemented rats fed with NLD (NLD + Cr group), rats fed with a high-fat diet (HF group), and chromium-supplemented rats fed with HF (HF + Cr group). After 10 weeks, blood was collected to determine adenosine diphosphate and collagen-induced platelet aggregation and plasma levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein A1, apolipoprotein B, and thromboxane B2. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol was calculated by Friedewald formula.
Results: High-fat diet animals displayed significant elevation of plasma lipids and platelet aggregation which was normalized to control levels by chromium supplementation. Chromium supplementation in normolipemic (NLD + Cr) rats did not produce significant changes in either plasma lipids or platelet activity.
Conclusion: Chromium supplementation to hypercholesterolemic rats improves the lipid profile and returns platelet hyperaggregability to control levels. This normalization is mostly due to a reduction in plasma cholesterol level.