Policosanol Attenuates Cholesterol Synthesis via AMPK Activation in Hypercholesterolemic Rats.

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of policosanol on high-fat and high-cholesterol diet-induced hypercholesterolemic rats to provide strong evidence in support of its hypocholesterolemic effect. The hypercholesterolemic rats showed elevations in liver weight, total triglycerides, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in serum; however, policosanol supplementation reduced these markers significantly. In addition, we found that policosanol supplementation stimulated an increase in fecal cholesterol and bile acid contents and deactivated 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase by AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation during high-fat and high-cholesterol-containing diet-induced development of hypercholesterolemia. Policosanol supplementation decreased ApoB levels and increased LDL-receptor expression, but it did not affect the hepatic ACAT2 level in livers from hypercholesterolemic rats. Moreover, supplementation with policosanol significantly decreased aortic wall thickness and levels of P-selectin and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule (sVCAM-1) in serum. In conclusion, we suggest that policosanol supplementation induces antihypercholesterolemia by inhibiting cholesterol biosynthesis, LDL cholesterol uptake, and cholesterol excretion.

• Authors: Da-Eun Nam, Jeong-Moon Yun, Dakyung Kim, Ok-Kyung Kim
• Journal: Journal of medicinal food (J Med Food) Vol. 22 Issue 11 Pg. 1110-1117 (Nov 2019) ISSN: 1557-7600 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 31613687 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Anticholesteremic Agents
• Apolipoprotein B-100
• Cholesterol, HDL
• Fatty Alcohols
• P-Selectin
• Receptors, LDL
• Triglycerides
• Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1
• policosanol
• Cholesterol
• Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA Reductases
• Sterol O-Acyltransferase
• AMP-Activated Protein Kinases

Topics

• AMP-Activated Protein Kinases (metabolism)
• Animals
• Anticholesteremic Agents (pharmacology)
• Aorta
• Apolipoprotein B-100 (metabolism)
• Cholesterol (biosynthesis)
• Cholesterol, HDL (blood)
• Diet, High-Fat
• Fatty Alcohols (pharmacology)
• Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA Reductases (metabolism)
• Hypercholesterolemia (drug therapy, enzymology)
• Liver (metabolism)
• Male
• P-Selectin (blood)
• Rats
• Rats, Sprague-Dawley
• Receptors, LDL (metabolism)
• Sterol O-Acyltransferase (metabolism)
• Triglycerides (blood)
• Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 (blood)
• Sterol O-Acyltransferase 2