Hypolipidemic Effect of Mulberry Leaf Extract in Rats Fed a High-cholesterol Diet (P06-014-19)

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hypolipidemic effect of high hydrostatic pressure extract of mulberry leaf on in rats fed a high-cholesterol diet. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated into four groups. Each group fed a normal diet (NOR), a high-cholesterol diet (HC), a HC containing 0.5% high hydrostatic pressure extract of mulberry leaves (ML), or a HC containing 1.0% high hydrostatic pressure extract of mulberry leaves (MH) for 4 weeks. Body weight and food intake were not different among the four groups. The levels of serum triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and atherosclerotic index (AI) significantly reduced in the ML and MH groups compared to HC group. While, in MH group, serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was increased compared to HC group. Liver cholesterol was lower in the ML and MH groups than those in the HC group. Fecal excretion of the total lipid, TG, TC, and bile acid were higher in the ML and MH groups than those in the HC group. The mRNA related to cholesterol efflux and hepatic bile acid synthesis in liver, such as liver X receptor-a (LXRa), ATP-binding cassette sub-family G member 5(ABCG5), ATP-binding cassette sub-family G member 8 (ABCG8), and cholesterol 7- alpha hydroxylase gene (CYP7A1) were significantly upregulated in MH group compared to HC group. These results suggest that hypolipidemic effect of mulberry leaf extracts partially associated with modulating gene expression related to hepatic cholesterol efflux, hepatic bile acid synthesis, and increasing fecal lipid excretion. None.