Key Laboratory of Xin'an Medicine, Ministry of Education, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of R&D of Chinese Medicine, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui, China.
State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, China.
Mol Nutr Food Res. 2017 Nov;61(11). doi: 10.1002/mnfr.201700303. Epub 2017 Aug 29.
(-)-Epicatechin (EC) is a natural flavanol monomer found in cocoa, green tea, and a variety of other plant foods. In this study, effects of EC on blood lipids and hepatic steatosis, and the underlying mechanisms were investigated.
A hyperlipidemic rat model was induced by high-fat, high-cholesterol diet. EC was then administrated to the animals by gavage at doses of 10, 20, 40 mg/kg body weight (BW) for 12 weeks. Simvastatin was included as a positive control. The results showed that EC significantly reduced total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglyceride, alleviated liver fat accumulation, while increased HDL cholesterol, in hyperlipidemic rats. EC also reduced lipid peroxidation, inhibited the pro-inflammatory cytokines, and lowered serum AST and ALT. The potential molecular mechanisms of EC underlying these effects were proposed to be associated to regulating Insig-1-SREBP-SCAP pathway, and other lipid metabolic related genes including LXR-α, FAS, and SIRT1.
EC effectively improved blood lipid profile and protected liver from accumulating excessive fat in hyperlipidemic rats. The results shed a light on the potential role of EC as a promising natural product in preventing hyperlipidemia and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
（-）-表儿茶素（EC）是一种天然黄烷醇单体，存在于可可、绿茶和多种其他植物性食物中。本研究旨在探讨 EC 对血脂和肝脂肪变性的影响及其潜在机制。
通过高脂高胆固醇饮食诱导高脂血症大鼠模型，然后通过灌胃给予动物 10、20、40mg/kg 体重（BW）的 EC，共 12 周。辛伐他汀作为阳性对照。结果表明，EC 可显著降低高脂血症大鼠的总胆固醇、LDL 胆固醇和甘油三酯，减轻肝脂肪堆积，同时增加 HDL 胆固醇。EC 还可降低脂质过氧化，抑制促炎细胞因子，并降低血清 AST 和 ALT。EC 发挥这些作用的潜在分子机制可能与调节 Insig-1-SREBP-SCAP 通路以及其他与脂质代谢相关的基因有关，包括 LXR-α、FAS 和 SIRT1。
EC 可有效改善血脂谱，防止高脂血症大鼠肝脏脂肪堆积。这些结果表明，EC 作为一种有前途的天然产物，可能在预防高脂血症和非酒精性脂肪性肝病方面具有潜在作用。
