Improvement of Cholesterol and Blood Pressure in Fruit, Leaf and Stem Extracts from Black Raspberry in vitro

We compared effects of fruit, leaf, and stem extracts from black raspberry on improvement of cholesterol andblood pressure in HepG2 and HUVEC cells, respectively. Cholesterol secretion was inhibited by water extracts of unripefruit and stem, but not leaf of black raspberry in HepG2 cells. Also, water extracts of unripe fruit, leaf, and stem reducedHMG-CoA reductase activity. Furthermore, nitric oxide production and expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme(ACE) protein were regulated by extracts of fruit, leaf, and stem of black raspberry in HUVEC cells. Overall, the rank orderaccording to the improving level of cholesterol and hypertension is as follows: stem fruit leaf. In addition, variouspolyphenol compounds displayed inhibitory effects of HMG-CoA reductase activity and ACE expression. Thus, these datasuggested that leaf and stem as wells as fruit of black raspberry can be used as useful food resources for reduction of cholesteroland blood pressure.