title: Polysaccharide from fuzi (FPS) prevents hypercholesterolemia in rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Polysaccharide from fuzi (FPS), a Chinese herbal medicine extract, has been demonstrated to exert lipid lowering affects. In this study we examined potential mechanisms underlying this affect, specifically alterations in expression of the LDL-receptor (LDL-R), 3-hydroxy-3-methyl glutaryl (HMG)-CoA reductase and cytochrome P450 7alpha-1 (CYP7alpha-1), using a rat model of hypercholesterolemia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Male rats were fed either a normal or high cholesterol (HC) diet for two-weeks. Half of the rats on the HC diet were orally gavaged with FPS (224 mg/kg, 448 mg/kg or 896 mg/kg diet) daily. Serum lipid levels were quantified at end of the study period as were liver levels of LDL-R protein and mRNA expression of CYP7alpha-1 and HMG-CoA. Serum cholesterol and LDL-C concentrations were significantly elevated from control in HC rats, but not in those treated with FPS (P < 0.05). LDL-R expression was significantly decreased in the HC group compared to control (P < 0.05), but significantly increased in the FPS group (P < 0.05). HMG-CoA mRNA levels were significantly increased in the HC group compared both other groups (P < 0.05), while CYP7alpha-1 expression was significantly higher in the FPS group compared to both other groups (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that the cholesterol lowering effect of FPS in hypercholesteremic rats is caused at least in part by increased hepatic LDL-R and CYP7alpha-1 expression and decreased HMG-CoA expression. Further study is needed to determine precisely where and how FPS exerts these effects. FPS offers potential as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiongqing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Hanping
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Yiling
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Weikang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D031841:Aconitum / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D002790:Cholesterol 7-alpha-Hydroxylase / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006903:Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA Reductases / Q000378:metabolism; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids; D010936:Plant Extracts; D011134:Polysaccharides; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D006903:Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA Reductases; C532838:CYP7A1 protein, rat; D002790:Cholesterol 7-alpha-Hydroxylase