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Development of Natural Products for Lowering Blood Lipids
Author(s) -
Wang Yanwen,
Jia Xiaoming,
Ghanam Khadija
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.23.1_supplement.722.7
Subject(s) - cholesterol , chemistry , berberine , blood lipids , sterol , pharmacology , biochemistry , food science , biology
Although many natural products are available for lowering blood lipids, their efficacies are relatively low. Developing new products or improving the efficacy of current products is in demand. Recently, a great interest has arisen in the lipid‐lowering effect of plant alkaloid, berberine (BBR). Plant stanols (PS) are another class of natural compounds that are widely used to lower blood cholesterol. Because PS and BBR reduce cholesterol through distinct mechanisms, it is interesting to know how BBR and PS affect blood cholesterol when provided in combination. We have conducted several studies in hamsters and rats to determine the effect of BBR and PS alone and in combination on plasma cholesterol levels. The results demonstrated that the combination of BBR and PS substantially improved the cholesterol‐lowering efficacy through a synergistic inhibition on intestinal cholesterol absorption. Gene expression of intestinal ABCG5 and ABCG8 were also synergistically lowed by the combination of BBR and PS, indicating that the inhibition of cholesterol absorption by BBR and PS was independent from sterol transporters, ABCG5 and ABCG8. In addition, BBR and PS synergistically reduced plasma triacylglycerides. These findings suggest that the combination of BBR and plant stanols is a promising approach to the development of new natural product that can efficaciously lower both cholesterol and triacylglycerides.