Regulation of Lipid Metabolism by Octacosanol in Rats
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Abstract:
The effect of octacosanol on serum lipids and the liver of rats fed a high-fat diet was investigated. Thirty Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups: normal control group (n=10), high-fat control group (n=10), and octacosanol group (n=10). The content of serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), aspartate aminotransferase, alanine transaminase and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) were measured at the middle (weeks 4 and 8) and end (week 10) of the experiment, and the condition of hepatic steatosis was analyzed. The results showed that the serum triglyceride content of rats in the octacosanol group at weeks 4, 8 and 10 were significantly decreased by 26.81% (p=0.08), 44.77% (p=0.03) and 32.22% (p=0.03), respectively, compared to those in the high-fat group. The total cholesterol (TC) content of rats at weeks 4, 8 and 10 in the octacosanol group were significantly decreased by 16.76% (p=0.18), 16.21% (p=0.043) and 8.43% (p=0.07), respectively, compared to those the high-fat group. The serum HDL-C level, average body weight, and daily food intake were not affected by octacosanol. Pathological sectioning and liver function analysis indicated that octacosanol could effectively prevent hepatic steatosis without negatively affecting liver function. The results indicate that octacosanol can be used to regulate blood lipids and prevent hepatic steatosis. Therefore, octacosanol can be used as a functional food ingredient in the prevention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
