In this study, we investigated the hypolipidemic effects of Sophora flavescens in
poloxamer 407-induced hyperlipidemic and
cholesterol-fed rats. The MeOH extract and 4 fractions of S. flavescens were administered at doses of 250 and 100 mg/kg
body weight, respectively, once a day for 3 d to the
poloxamer 407-induced hyperlipidemic rats. Serum
lipid levels such as total
cholesterol (TC),
triglycerides (TG), and
low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (
LDL-C) were markedly elevated in the
poloxamer 407-induced hyperlipidemic control rats, while
lipid levels were significantly decreased in the rats administered the MeOH extract or 4 fractions of S. flavescens. In addition, serum
high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) was reduced in the
poloxamer 407-induced hyperlipidemic control rats. However,
oral administration of both the MeOH extract and 4 fractions significantly increased HDL-C levels. Of the tested fractions, the EtOAc fraction showed the strongest
lipid-lowering effect, as well as a high antiatherogenic potential with atherogenic index (A.I.) values of less than 1.92. We also investigated the hypolipidemic effects of the main compounds of the EtOAc fraction,
kurarinol and
kuraridinol, using the hyperlipidemic and hypercholesterolemic animal models. Here, elevated TC, TG, and
LDL-C levels in the
poloxamer 407-induced hyperlipidemic and
cholesterol-fed rats were significantly reduced after
oral administration of the compounds, and HDL-C levels had a significant increase. Furthermore, A.I. values were lowered by administering
kurarinol and
kuraridinol. In particular,
kuraridinol exhibited stronger protective activities against
hyperlipidemia than
kurarinol. These results suggest that S. flavescens and its constituents may be effective
cholesterol-lowering agents and useful for preventing hypercholesterolemic
atherosclerosis.