Hypolipidemic effect of the polysaccharides extracted from pumpkin by cellulase-assisted method on mice.

The fruit of pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) is one of the most important vegetables in the world. This study was conducted to investigate the hypolipidemic effect of the polysaccharide isolated from pumpkin (PP). Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups and treated with diets containing either high fat, PP, or normal fat. Oral administration of PP could significantly decrease the levels of plasma triacylglycerol (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and increase the levels of fecal fat, cholesterol, and plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Therefore, results suggest that PP had a high hypolipidemic activity and could be explored as a possible agent for hyperlipidemia.