Abstract
Pu-erh tea, one of the most popular beverages, is reported to have many healthy beneficial effects of lowering the plasma levels of lipids and lipoproteins, which may be relevant with its oxidation activity. However, the possible mechanisms of affecting the cholesterol biosynthesis and metabolism of LDL-C remain unknown. In this study, we examined the effects of different doses of Pu-erh tea on weight gain, plasma levels of lipids and lipoprotein, protein expression and activity of Squalene synthase, and transcription levels of LDLR, in a rat hyperlipidemia model. The inhibition ratio of cholesterol biosynthesis is determined by the method of liquid scintillation counting in HepG2 cell line. We found that the plasma TC and LDL-C levels were significantly reduced compared with the value of hyperlipidemic control group after 4 weeks treatment of different doses of Pu-erh tea. The protein expression of squalene synthase in rat liver was significantly decreased in Pu-erh tea-treated groups while activity of this rate-limiting enzyme was inhibited in the same groups. Pu-erh tea also inhibited the cholesterol biosynthesis in a dose-dependent manner from 3 H-Mevalonate in HepG2 cell line. Our results suggest that Pu-erh tea exerts lipid-lowering effects by inhibiting the expression and activity of squalene synthase, as well as evaluating the transcription level and protein expression of LDLR.
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