Antihyperlipidaemic effect of triterpenic acid-enriched fraction from Cyclocarya paliurus leaves in hyperlipidaemic rats

Context: Cyclocarya paliurus (Batal) Iljinskaja (Juglandaceae) is an edible and medicinal plant; the leaves are used in Chinese folkloric medicine to treat dyslipidaemia and diabetes.

Objective: This study evaluates the antihyperlipidaemic potential of the triterpenic acid-enriched fraction (TAE) from C. paliurus and the underlying mechanism.

Materials and methods: The hyperlipidaemic rats were induced by high fat diet for 6 weeks. After oral administration of TAE (200 and 400?mg/kg), the neutral fraction (150 and 300?mg/kg) and statin (4?mg/kg) to the hyperlipidaemic rats for 4 weeks, lipid profile and apolipoprotein (apoB48) level in plasma, and the expression levels of apoB48, microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP), phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in intestine were examined. The main constituents in the TAE were identified by HPLC-MS.

Results: TAE administration (400?mg/kg) decreased the levels of atherogenic lipids in serum and liver (p?p?Conclusion and discussion: These findings suggested that TAE possessed antihyperlipidaemic activity partially involved in the inhibitory effect on apoB48 overproduction, which may provide evidence about its potential role in ameliorating dyslipidaemia.