Supplementation with the Extract of Schisandrae Fructus Pulp, Seed, or Their Combination Influences the Metabolism of Lipids and Glucose in Mice Fed with Normal and Hypercholesterolemic Diet

• Published in: Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine Vol. 2014; no. 2014; pp. 1 - 11
• Main Authors: Ko, Kam Ming, Zhou, Shu-Feng, Zhu, Pei-Li, Sun, Nan, Zhang, Yi, Pan, Si-Yuan, Yu, Zhi-Ling, Wang, Xiao-Yan, Jia, Zhan-Hong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Publishing Corporation 01.01.2014; Hindawi Limited
• Subjects: Alanine; Alanine transaminase; Animals; Bitter taste; Cholesterol; Diet; Dietary supplements; Disease prevention; Drug therapy; Ethanol; Gene expression; Glucose; Glucose metabolism; Hepatitis; Hepatology; Kinases; Lipid metabolism; Lipids; Liver; Liver diseases; Metabolic syndrome; Mice; Pulp; Rodents; Saltiness; Schisandra chinensis; Skin; Sour taste; Sweet taste; Beijing China; China
• ISSN: 1741-427X; 1741-4288
• DOI: 10.1155/2014/472638

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.