Hypolipidemic effects of Alismatis rhizome on lipid profile in mice fed high-fat diet.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of Alismatis rhizome (AR) extract on lipid profile in mice fed high-fat diet.

METHODS: The study was performed in Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Resource and Compound Prescription (Hubei University of Chinese Medicine), Ministry of Education, Wuhan, China, between December 2009 and June 2010. Forty male Kunming mice (8-week-old) were randomly divided into 4 groups and were treated for 4 weeks: Group 1: normal control, Group 2: high-fat control, Group 3: positive control and Group 4: AR 2.26 g/kg. The hypolipidemic effects of AR were evaluated by serum lipids, liver lipids, and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Serum aminotransferases and histopathological changes were also measured.

RESULTS: Alismatis rhizome treatment resulted in an obvious decrease in serum and liver cholesterol, triglyceride along with elevated serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in hyperlipidemic mice. The histopathological results showed that adipose vacuoles in AR treated mice liver were almost identical to those of normal control mice. Serum alanine transaminase, aspartate aminotransferase and the relative liver weight in AR treated mice were decreased significantly. Alismatis rhizome substantially decreased the mRNA expression of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (Hmgcr), while the expressions of sterol regulatory element binding factor 2 (Srebf2) and cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase (Cyp7a1) were marginally affected.

CONCLUSIONS: These results confirmed the efficacy of AR in the treatment of hyperlipidemia. Alismatis rhizome may act by decreasing the liver synthesis of cholesterol, rather than by increasing the cholesterol catabolism.