Attenuation of fatty liver and prevention of hypercholesterolemia by extract of Curcuma longa through regulating the expression of CYP7A1, LDL-receptor, HO-1, and HMG-CoA reductase.

Abstract

UNLABELLED:

The extract of Curcuma longa, better known as turmeric, was orally administered to experimental rats that were fed a high-cholesterol diet to investigate whether it could regulate plasma lipids and cholesterol levels and possibly improve hepatic conditions. With turmeric supplements, rats showed a significant decrease in total plasma cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol but an increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol when compared with rats that were fed a high-cholesterol diet alone. Fatty liver developed in hypercholesterolemic rats with the high-cholesterol diet treatment, and this condition was markedly improved when rats were provided with turmeric supplements at 100 mg/kg or 300 mg/kg of body mass. The turmeric treatment resulted in a significant decrease in the total amount of hepatic lipid. Histological staining of liver tissues with Sudan III and hematoxylin showed that rats fed with a high-cholesterol diet alone had more and larger granular fat bodies than rats having turmeric extract supplementation in their high-cholesterol diet. Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction was used to assess the expression levels of enzymes involved in fat metabolism and cellular homeostasis in experimental rat livers. The results showed that rats fed a high-cholesterol diet supplemented with turmeric extract had a significant increase in the expression of cholesterol 7 α-hydroxylase, hemeoxygenase 1, and low-density lipoprotein receptors but a significant decrease in 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase level when compared with rats fed a normal or high-cholesterol diet, showing that turmeric prevents hypercholesterolemia and the formation of fatty liver by the modulation of expressions of enzymes that are important to cholesterol metabolism.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION:

  Turmeric may be considered a functional food for regulating plasma cholesterol levels and preventing the development of fatty liver in people who frequently consume a high-cholesterol diet.

• Authors: Wing-Fat Yiu, Pui-Long Kwan, Cho-Yee Wong, Tsz-Shan Kam, Sin-Ming Chiu, Shun-Wan Chan, Robbie Chan
• Journal: Journal of food science (J Food Sci) Vol. 76 Issue 3 Pg. H80-9 (Apr 2011) ISSN: 1750-3841 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 21535835 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Anticholesteremic Agents
• Isoenzymes
• Plant Extracts
• Receptors, LDL
• Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA Reductases
• Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing)
• CYP7A1 protein, rat
• Cholesterol 7-alpha-Hydroxylase

Topics

• Animals
• Anticholesteremic Agents (administration & dosage, pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Cholesterol 7-alpha-Hydroxylase (genetics, metabolism)
• Curcuma (chemistry)
• Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
• Fatty Liver (blood, drug therapy, metabolism, pathology)
• Gene Expression Regulation (drug effects)
• Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing) (genetics, metabolism)
• Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA Reductases (genetics, metabolism)
• Hypercholesterolemia (prevention & control)
• Isoenzymes (genetics, metabolism)
• Lipid Metabolism (drug effects)
• Liver (enzymology, metabolism, pathology)
• Male
• Plant Extracts (administration & dosage, pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Random Allocation
• Rats
• Rats, Sprague-Dawley
• Receptors, LDL (genetics, metabolism)
• Rhizome (chemistry)