Amomum villosum Lour. Fruit extract mitigates hyperlipidemia through SREBP-2/LDLR/HMGCR signaling in high-cholesterol diet-fed mice

Abstract

Amomum villosum Lour. (Zingiberaceae) is an herbal medicine used in Asian countries for various ailments. In the current experiment, the effect of AV water extract (AVE) on cholesterol-lowering capabilities along with its essential bio-molecular mechanisms have been examined. The efficiency of AVE against high-cholesterol diet (HCD)-generated hyperlipidemia was investigated using C57BL/6 mice. Mice have been divided to six categories: control group (normal diet), high-cholesterol diet (HCD), and HCD treated with AVE at 100, 200, and 500 mg/kg, or simvastatin 40 mg/kg for four weeks. AVE treated animal groups (100, 200, 500 mg/kg) had markedly lessened body mass increase (p < 0.01) and also had reduced liver and epididymal fat weights (p < 0.05) related to HCD alone batch. Hepatic TG levels in AVE 100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg, and 500 mg/kg treated groups were meaningfully reduced by 13.32%, 14.61%, and 21.78%, respectively; and serum TG decreased by 25.65%, 31.97%, and 32.22%, respectively, compared to the HCD alone group. Serum TC was reduced by 11.17%, 12.48%, and 26.85% with AVE at 100, 200, and 500 mg/kg, respectively; and serum LDL-C declined by 10.08%, 18.50%, and 30.90% (p < 0.05) with AVE at 100, 200, and 500 mg/kg, respectively. Levels of mRNA expression including LDL receptor (LDLR), sterol regulatory element-binding protein 2 (SREBP2), and HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR) were noticeably amplified by AVE (500 mg/kg) treatment. Similarly, AVE treatment significantly increased Hmgcr protein expression levels in a dose related fashion. These outcomes show that AVE displays a hypolipidemic effect and might function as a novel hypolipidemic therapy, further; they suggest a mechanism of action for this effect.