title: Piperine potentiates the hypocholesterolemic effect of curcumin in rats fed on a high fat diet.
abstract: It has previously been demonstrated that curcumin possesses a hypocholesterolemic effect and potentiates numerous pharmacological effects of curcumin, however, the mechanisms underlying this hypocholesterolemic effect and the interaction between curcumin and piperine remain to be elucidated. In the present study, male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed on a high-fat diet (HFD) to establish a hyperlipidemia (HLP) model. Co-administration of curcumin plus piperine was found to decrease the levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the serum and liver, as well as increase the levels of fecal TC, TG and total bile acid, compared with administration of curcumin alone. Curcumin plus piperine also markedly increased the levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Furthermore, compared with administration of curcumin alone, administration of curcumin plus piperine resulted in a significant upregulation of the activity and gene expression of apolipoprotein AI (ApoAI), lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT), cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) and low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR). In conclusion, these results indicated that co-administration of curcumin plus piperine potentiates the hypocholesterolemic effects of curcumin by increasing the activity and gene expression of ApoAI, CYP7A1, LCAT and LDLR, providing a promising combination for the treatment of HLP.
authors.affiliation: Traditional Chinese Medicine Pharmacological Research Office, Guangdong Provincial Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510095, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yaosheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tu
authors.affiliation: Traditional Chinese Medicine Pharmacological Research Office, Guangdong Provincial Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510095, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Dongmei
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Traditional Chinese Medicine Pharmacological Research Office, Guangdong Provincial Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510095, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaohui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Traditional Chinese Medicine Pharmacological Research Office, Guangdong Provincial Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510095, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Traditional Chinese Medicine Pharmacological Research Office, Guangdong Provincial Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510095, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xuejun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Traditional Chinese Medicine Pharmacological Research Office, Guangdong Provincial Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510095, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Dane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Traditional Chinese Medicine Pharmacological Research Office, Guangdong Provincial Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510095, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yuxing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
keywords: cholesterol; curcumin; mRNA; piperine; rat