In Vivo Hypolipidemic Effects and Antioxidant Capacity of Pinus morrisonicola Hay Extracts by Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction

Abstract

Pinus morrisonicola hay (PM) is a pine tree unique to Taiwan, whose needles are used as traditional medicine and as functional drink. PME3-1 was made using supercritical extraction to evaluate the prevention of hyperlipidemia. This study explored the hypolipidemic effect of PME3-1 on hamsters on a high fat and cholesterol (HFC) diet. Three groups of hamsters were fed with PME3-1 (0.2, 1.0, and 5.0 mg/kg bw). After feeding for eight weeks, PME3-1 reduced the serum cholesterol, triglyceride levels, the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL/HDL) ratio, and the swelling of the liver and kidney significantly (p < 0.05). In addition, feeding the hamsters with 5.0 mg/kg bw of PME3-1 could significantly reduce their total lipid (TL) content, total cholesterol (TC) content, total triglyceride (TG) content, and the HMG-CoA reductase activity in the liver (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, the antioxidant enzymes in the liver, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione S-transferase (GST), can also improve, promoting the excretion of triglycerides (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) in the feces (p < 0.05). Therefore, these results confirm that PME3-1 hypolipidemic and antioxidant regulating functions in vivo.