Effect of astragalus- angelica mixture on lipoprotein lipase and lecithin- cholesterol acyltransferase of nephrotic rats

Objective: To investigate the mechanism of Astragalus-Angelica Mixture (AAM)'s effects on lipid metabolism disturbance in nephrotic rats.Methods: To examine the effects of AAM on serum albumin, lipid levels, and activities of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT), which are key enzymes for metabolism of lipid in immune-induced nephrotic hyperlipidemia rats and exogenous hyperlipidemia rats.Results: In nephrotic rats, serum albumin was reduced, lipid increased significantly, LPL activity decreased markedly and the LCAT activity was relatively insufficient. Activities of LPL and LCAT increased obviously in AAM treated nephrotic rats. There were no change of activities of LPL and LCAT in exogenous hyperlipidemia rats and AAM showed no effect on the activities of these two enzymes. Conclusion: The effect of AAM on regulating lipid metabolism might be due to enhance the clearance of both triglyceride-rich and cholesterol-rich apoB containing lipoprotein by improving the activities of LPL and LCAT.