Pan SY [1], Dong H [1], Zhao XY [1], Xiang CJ [1], Fang HY [1], Fong WF [2], Yu ZL [2], Ko KM [3]
[1] Department of Pharmacology,Beijing University of ChineseMedicine, Beijing 100102, China
[2] School of Chinese Medicine,Hong Kong Baptist University,Kowloon Tong, HongKong, China
[3] Department of Biochemistry,Hong Kong University of Science& Technology, Clear Water Bay,Hong Kong, China
The effects of schisandrin B (Sch B) on liver and serum lipid contents were investigated in mice with experimentally-induced hypercholesterolaemia. Hypercholesterolaemia was induced either by oral administration of a cholesterol/bile salts mixture (2/0.59kg(-1)) for four days or by feeding a high fat/cholesterol/bile salts (10/1/0.3\%, w/w) diet for seven days. Daily co-administration of Sch B (50-200 mg kg(-1), i.g.) for four or six days, respectively, decreased hepatic total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) levels (by up to 50\% and 52\%, respectively) in hypercholesterolaemic mice. Sch B treatment also increased hepatic indices (14-84\%) in hypercholesterolaemic mice. The results indicated that Sch B treatment could decrease hepatic TC and TG levels, and increase liver weight, in mouse models of hypercholesterolaemia. Fenofibrate treatment (100 mg kg(-1)) produced effects similar to those of Sch B on the hepatic index and lipid levels of hypercholesterolaemic mice.