title: Hawthorn fruit is hypolipidemic in rabbits fed a high cholesterol diet.
abstract: The present study examined the hypolipidemic activity of hawthorn fruit. New Zealand white rabbits were fed one of three diets, a reference diet with no cholesterol added (NC), a high cholesterol diet (1 g/100 g, HC) and a HC diet supplemented with 2 g/100 g hawthorn fruit powder (HC-H). After 12 wk, serum total cholesterol (TC) and triacylglycerols (TG) were 23.4 and 22.2% lower, respectively, in the hawthorn fruit group compared with the HC rabbits (P < 0.05). Hawthorn supplementation led to 50.6% less cholesterol accumulation in aorta (P < 0.05) and 23-95% greater excretion of neutral and acidic sterols (P < 0.05). Supplementation of hawthorn fruit did not affect the activities of hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methyl glutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA-R) or cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase (CH) but it suppressed the activity of intestinal acyl CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT, P < 0.05). The results suggest that the mechanism by which hawthorn fruit decreases serum cholesterol involves, at least in part, the inhibition of cholesterol absorption mediated by down-regulation of intestinal ACAT activity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, The People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zesheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Walter K K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Anthony E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: James
authors.forename: Lik Wang
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: Zhen-Yu
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D002790:Cholesterol 7-alpha-Hydroxylase / Q000378:metabolism; D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D006903:Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA Reductases / Q000378:metabolism; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000178:diet therapy*; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007422:Intestines / Q000201:enzymology; D007668:Kidney / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism; D011817:Rabbits; D027824:Rosaceae; D002785:Sterol O-Acyltransferase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D013261:Sterols / Q000032:analysis; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents; D013261:Sterols; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol; D006903:Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA Reductases; D002790:Cholesterol 7-alpha-Hydroxylase; D002785:Sterol O-Acyltransferase