title: Antihyperlipidemic effects of rhapontin and rhapontigenin from rheum undulatum in rats fed a high-cholesterol diet.
abstract: Rhapontin was purified from a methanol extract from the roots of Rheum undulatum, and rhapontigenin was produced by an enzymatic transformation of rhapontin. Rats were fed a high-cholesterol diet to induce hyperlipidemia, followed by oral treatment with rhapontin or rhapontigenin (1-5 mg/kg/day). Rhapontin and rhapontigenin treatment resulted in a significant (p<0.05) dose-dependent decrease in the serum lipid level, while the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level increased slightly compared with the experimental control. Furthermore, rhapontin and rhapontigenin treatment improved the pathological characteristics of the degenerating fatty liver in high-cholesterol diet-induced hyperlipidemic rats dose-dependently. Aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase levels in rhapontin- and rhapontigenin-treated hyperlipidemic rats were not significantly different from those in the control. These results indicate that rhapontin and rhapontigenin can be used as potent antihyperlipidemic agents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Science (BK21 PLUS Program), Graduate School, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sung-Pil
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Jo
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Korea Polytechnic University, Shihung-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong-Keun
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Science (BK21 PLUS Program), Graduate School, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Hee
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Lim
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000188:drug therapy; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012250:Rheum / Q000737:chemistry; D013267:Stilbenes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts; D013267:Stilbenes; D014280:Triglycerides; C431126:rhapontigenin; D002784:Cholesterol; C023538:rhapontin