Effect of Ephedrae Herba methanol extract on high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidaemic mice

Se-Eun Lee,Chiyeon Lim,Sehyun Lim,Byoungho Lee,Suin Cho

doi:10.1080/13880209.2019.1666883

Abstract

Context: Ephedrae Herba (EH), the dried stems and leaves of Ephedra sinica Stapf., E. intermedia Schrenk et C. A. Mey., or E. equisetina Bge. (Ephedraceae [Ephedra]) is used to treat respiratory diseases. Recently, especially in the Republic of Korea, EH has also been used for weight reduction.Objective: We evaluated the effects and molecular targets of methanol EH extract (EHM) on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced hyperlipidemic ICR mice.Materials and methods: EHM was orally administered (100 mg/kg body weight/day) for 3 weeks. We observed changes in body weight (BW), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein–cholesterol, and triglycerides to evaluate the physiological changes induced by HFD or EHM administration. To evaluate lipid peroxidation and liver toxicity, malondialdehyde and blood alanine aminotransferase levels were measured. In addition to analyzing liver gene expression profiles, EHM target proteins were identified using a protein interaction database.Results: EHM administration for 3 weeks significantly (p < 0.05) decreased TC and triglyceride levels without altering BW in mice, and gene expression levels in the livers of EHM-treated mice were restored at 34.0% and 48.4% of those up- or down-regulated by hyperlipidaemia, respectively. Proteins related to DNA repair and energy metabolism were identified via protein interaction network analysis as molecular targets of EHM that play key roles in ameliorating hyperlipidaemia.Discussion and conclusions: EHM regulated hyperlipidaemia by decreasing total blood lipid and triglyceride levels in hyperlipidaemic mice. EHM showed preventive effects against hyperlipidaemia in mice, possibly via the regulation of DNA repair and the expression of energy metabolism-related genes and proteins.

Highlights

In modern society, the prevalence of various metabolic disorders such as diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, and cardiovascular diseases is increasing as a result of drastic changes in the living environment and excessive nutritional intake (Bao et al 2017; Danese et al 2017)
Many of the effects of Ephedrae Herba (EH) are considered to be associated with ephedrine (Chang et al 2018); we detected the presence of ephedrine to obtain a fingerprint of the EHM-treated group (EHM) used in this experiment (Figure 1)
A statistically significant increase in blood triglyceride levels was observed in the control group (CON) group (85.1 ± 11.7 mg/dL) compared with that in the normal group (NOR) group (158.0 ± 24.2 mg/dL, p < 0.001) and in the EHM group (134.3 ± 15.8 mg/dL, p < 0.05; Figure 3(D))

Summary

Introduction

The prevalence of various metabolic disorders such as diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, and cardiovascular diseases is increasing as a result of drastic changes in the living environment and excessive nutritional intake (Bao et al 2017; Danese et al 2017). Excessive intake of animal-derived saturated fat is reported to increase total cholesterol (TC) concentrations in the serum and can cause various diseases, including cardiovascular diseases (Kopelman 2000; Jelcic and Korsic 2009; Efremov et al 2013; Mattar et al 2017). Hyperlipidaemia is both a threat to human health and a social concern (Jelcic and Korsic 2009; Efremov et al 2013). Because of the risk of adverse effects associated with long-term use of medication, there is an increasing tendency to prefer diets that include natural products with high efficacy against hyperlipidaemia with few side effects (Yao and MacKenzie 2010)

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Conclusion