Hypolipidemic Effects of Salacia reticulata in ddY Mice Fed High-fat Diet

Kyoji YOSHINO, Manato YAMAGUCHI, Keisuke SAITOH, Haruna GOTO,

Takashi KANETAKA, Kunimasa KOGA

¹Numazu College of Technology (3600 Ooka, Numazu, Shizuoka 410-8501, Japan)

² Seiko Co., Ltd (50-6 Higashino, Nagaizumi, Shizuoka 411-0931, Japan)

³ Tokai University (317 Nishino, Numazu, Shizuoka 410-0395, Japan)

(Received March 13, 2012; Accepted April 24, 2012)

Abstract

The hypolipidemic effects of the leaves and stems of Salacia reticulata in mice fed a high-fat diet were investigated in this study. The diet consisted of 10%(w/w) triglycerides and 5%(w/w) cholesterol with or without 0.5, 1.0, or 3.0%(w/w) powders made from leaves or stems of S. reticulata obtained from Sri Lanka. After breeding for 5 days, the dietary administrations of leaves or stems of S. reticulata suppressed the increase in the concentrations of triglycerides and total cholesterol in plasma and liver, the concentration of low density lipoprotein-cholesterol in plasma, and the levels of lipid peroxides in plasma and liver in mice fed a high-fat diet. Significant positive correlations were observed among the levels of lipid peroxides and the concentrations of triglycerides in plasma and liver, respectively. The administration of leaves or stems of S. reticulata also suppressed the increase of the lipase activity in small intestine of mice fed a high-fat diet. Because of the significant positive correlation between the concentration of triglycerides in plasma and the activity of lipase in small intestine, the inhibitory effects of S. reticulata on intestinal lipase could contribute to their hypolipidemic effects. We anticipate that the leaves of S. reticulata will prevent obesity and arteriosclerosis in the same manner as the stems do.

Key words: Salacia reticulata, Mouse, Lipid absorption, Antioxidant