Abstract
BackgroundHyperlipidemia characterized of elevated serum lipid levels is a prevalent disease frequently resulting in cardiovascular disease (CVD). Berberine and evodiamine are herbal products of traditional Chinese herb Coptis chinensis and Evodia rutaecarpa, which are indicated to exert regulation of lipid metabolism. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the lipid-lowering effect of berberine and evodiamine combination in hyperlipidemic rats.MethodThe rat model of hyperlipidemia was established by providing high-fat-diet (HFD) for 4 weeks. Berberine (BB), evodiamine (EV), and their combination (BB + EV) were orally administered to HFD induced rats for 4 weeks. Body weight, food utilization, histopathology of liver tissues, lipid profiles of serum and liver were measured. Gas chromatography (GC) analysis was applied to examine the level of plasma total cholesterol and ß- Sitosterol (BS) to estimate cholesterol absorption activity. Furthermore, intestinal NPC1L1, ACAT2, and ApoB48 protein expressions were evaluated by immunohistochemical assay.ResultAccording to the results, decreased levels of serum cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), as well as hepatic TC were showed in hyperlipidemic rats treated by combination of berberine and evodiamine. GC analysis indicated that the elevated plasma BS was significantly ameliorated by BB, EV, and BB + EV. In addition, immunohistochemical analysis revealed that BB + EV treatment down-regulated the expressions of intestinal NPC1L1 and ACAT2, and ApoB48 in HFD induced rats.ConclusionBased on the above results, combination of berberine and evodiamine exerted a promising preventive effect on hyperlipidemia, partially through inhibiting intestinal absorption of cholesterol.
Highlights
Hyperlipidemia characterized of elevated serum lipid levels is a prevalent disease frequently resulting in cardiovascular disease (CVD)
Hyperlipidemia is an abnormality of lipid metabolism, characterized by an elevation of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), and/or a decreasing of high density lipoproteincholesterol (HDL-C) in circulating levels [1]
We found that supplementation with HFD increased the level of ß-sitosterol and ß-sitosterol/cholesterol ratio, which were attenuated by berberine, evodiamine, and their combination, suggesting that berberine, evodiamine, and their combination could successfully decrease the markers of cholesterol absorption, inhibiting absorption of cholesterol
Summary
Hyperlipidemia characterized of elevated serum lipid levels is a prevalent disease frequently resulting in cardiovascular disease (CVD). Berberine and evodiamine are herbal products of traditional Chinese herb Coptis chinensis and Evodia rutaecarpa, which are indicated to exert regulation of lipid metabolism. It has been reported that administration with berberine by gavaging for 8 weeks could reduce serum total cholesterol level by 29%–33% through inhibiting the intestinal absorption in high fat diet induced rats [12]. Previous research of our laboratory has found that berberine concomitant with evodiamine had ameliorative effect in high fat diet induced rats. The effect of the combination of berberine and evodiamine on modulation of cholesterol absorption has not been experimentally researched. As for the lipid-regulated effects of the two drugs, exploration of the combination of berberine and evodiamine on modulation of lipid metabolism through cholesterol absorption would provide interesting results
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