title: Antiatherogenic activity of Dendropanax morbifera essential oil in rats.
abstract: In Korea, Dendropanax morbifera Leveille (Araliaceae) is commonly used in traditional medicines for various diseases. We evaluated the hypolipidemic activity of D. morbifera essential oil (DMEO) in male Wistar rats (weight, 160 +/- 15 g) maintained on a high-cholesterol diet. DMEO was extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS). The DMEO yield was 3.5%, and GC/MS analysis revealed that its major constituents were gamma-elemene (18.59%), tetramethyltricyclo hydrocarbons (10.82%), beta-zingiberene (10.52%), and beta-selinene (10.41%). Rats were orally administered DMEO at doses of 50, 100, and 200 mg kg(-1) d(-1) for 2 weeks. DMEO significantly and dose-dependently reduced the total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and significantly increased the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. We conclude that D. morbifera has significant lipid-lowering effects and is a promising agent that should be considered in studies seeking new, safe, and effective natural cardioprotective agents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Life Science, Kon Kuk University, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Ill-Min
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Min Young
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Won-Hwan
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Hyung-In
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Moon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D027481:Araliaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004032:Diet; D004036:Diet, Atherogenic; D035264:Flowers / Q000737:chemistry; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007723:Korea; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents; D008055:Lipids; D009822:Oils, Volatile