Pan SY[1], Litscher G[2], Gao SH[3], Zhou SF[4], Yu ZL[5], Chen HQ[6], Zhang SF[1], Tang MK[1], Sun JN[1], Ko KM[7]
[1] School of Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
[2] Research Unit for Complementary and Integrative Laser Medicine, Research Unit of Biomedical Engineering in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine and TCM Research Center Graz, Medical University of Graz, Austria.
[3] School of Basic Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
[4] College of Pharmacy, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA.
[5] School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong.
[6] American Academy of Natural Medicine, Costa Mesa, USA.
[7] Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Hong Kong.
SCHISANDRAE FRUCTUS (SF), WHICH POSSESSES FIVE TASTES: sweet (fruit skin), sour (pulp), bitter/pungent (seed core), and saltiness (all parts), can produce a wide spectrum of biological activities in the body. Here, we investigated the effects of the ethanolic extract of SF pulp, seed, or their combination (namely, EtSF-P, EtSF-S, or EtSF-P/S, resp.; collectively called EtSF) on the metabolism of lipids and glucose in normal diet- (ND-) and hypercholesterolemic diet- (HCLD-) fed mice. Supplementation with EtSF significantly reduced hepatic triglyceride and cholesterol levels by 18-47% in both ND- and HCLD-fed mice. EtSF supplementation reduced serum triglyceride levels (approximately 29%), whereas EtSF-P and EtSF-S/P elevated serum cholesterol (up to 26 and 44%, resp.) in HCLD-fed mice. Treatment with EtSF decreased hepatic glucose levels (by 9-44%) in both ND- and HCLD-fed mice. Supplementation with EtSF-S or EtSF-S/P (at 1 and 3%) increased biliary or fecal TC contents in HCLD-fed mice. However, supplementation with EtSF-S/P at 9% reduced biliary TC levels in HCLD-fed mice. EtSF-P or EtSF-S/P supplementation reduced serum alanine aminotransferase activity in HCLD-fed mice. The findings suggested that supplementation with EtSF lowered lipid and glucose accumulation in the liver and increased fecal cholesterol contents in mice. Dietary supplementation with EtSF-P or EtSF-S/P attenuated liver damage in HCLD-fed mice.