Abstract:The effects of the black rice anthocyanidin monomer cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G) and its lauric acid enzymatic acylation product cyanidin-3-(6″-lauroyl) glucose (C3G-C12) on cholesterol absorption and transport in Caco-2 cells, and its possible mechanism of action, were investigated. In this study, C3G was extracted from black rice anthocyanidins by semi-preparative liquid chromatography (Semi-HPLC) and the monomer was identified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). C3G was used as raw material and enzymatically acylated with lauric acid and Novozymes 435. The acylated products were further separated by Semi-HPLC, and the monomer was verified by LC-MS/MS and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). A 21-day Caco-2 intestinal epithelial cell model was established. The cells were incubated with mass concentrations of 50, 100, and 150 μg/mL C3G and C3G-C12 and 20 μmol·L-1 cholesterol absorption inhibitor Ezetimibe to carry out transport experiments. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to detect the cellular cholesterol absorption, and fluorescence quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to detect the expression of NPC1L1 mRNA. The results showed that the cholesterol transport of Caco-2 cells could be inhibited by the both in a concentration-dependent manner. C3G and C3G-C12 at a mass concentration of 150 μg/mL reduced cholesterol absorption by 46.21% and 56.36%, respectively, and cause a 56.93% and 59.76% decrease in NPC1L1 mRNA expression. In summary, C3G-C12 was more effective in inhibiting cholesterol absorption than C3G, which might be related to its inhibition of NPC1L1 mRNA expression. This study provided a theoretical basis for the enzymatic acylation modification of black rice anthocyanins and their role in regulating intestinal cholesterol metabolism.