Abstract:An investigation on the effects of fucoxanthin-microencapsulated powder on hypercholesterolemia in high fat-fed C57BL/6J mice was conducted. The mice were fed different doses of fucoxanthin-microencapsulated powder and the serum and liver total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) content, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) content were measured. The regulatory effect of fucoxanthin-microencapsulated powder on cholesterol metabolism in C57BL/6J mice was also investigated using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The results showed that fucoxanthin-microencapsulated powder effectively reduced the amount of TC, TG, and LDL-C, and increased that of HDL-C, in the liver. TG content in the serum was found to be decreased, while HDL-C levels in the serum increased. The fat and cholesterol content in the stool increased, whereas serum TC content was not decreased in metabolic processes. The results of the RT-PCR showed that the fucoxanthin-microencapsulated powder might regulate the mechanism of cholesterol metabolism by inhibiting the expression of HMG-COA-R, CYP7A1, LXRα, ABCA1, and ACAT2, and promoting the expression of SREBP2, LCAT, and LDLR.
