Lotus seed resistant starch ameliorates high-fat diet induced hyperlipidemia by fatty acid degradation and glycerolipid metabolism pathways in mouse liver.

We investigated the potential efficacy and underlying mechanisms of Lotus seed Resistant Starch (LRS) for regulating hyperlipidemia in mice fed a High-fat Diet (HFD). Mouse were fed a normal diet (Normal Control group, NC group), HFD alone (MC group), HFD plus lovastatin (PC group), or HFD with low/medium/high LRS (LLRS, MLRS, and HLRS groups, respectively) for 4 weeks. LRS supplementation significantly decreased body weight and significantly reduced serum levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high-density lipopro-tein cholesterol compared with the MC group. LRS also significantly alleviated hepatic steatosis, especially in the MLRS group, which also showed a significantly reduced visceral fat index. LLRS supplementation significantly regulated genes associated with glycerolipid metabolism and steroid hormone biosynthesis (Lpin1 and Ugt2b38), MLRS significantly regulated genes related to fatty acid degradation, fatty acid elongation, and glycerolipid metabolism (Lpin1, Hadha, Aldh3a2, and Acox1), whereas HLRS significantly regulated genes related to fatty acid elongation and glycerolipid metabolism (Lpin1, Elovl3, Elovol5, and Agpat3). The fatty acid-degradation pathway regulated by MLRS thus exerts better control of serum lipid levels, body weight, visceral fat index, and liver steatosis in mice compared with LLRS- and HLRS-regulated pathways.

An overview of the bioactivity of monacolin K / lovastatin.

Monacolin K (MK) is the principal active substance in Monascus-fermentation products (e.g. red yeast rice). MK is effective in reducing cholesterol levels in humans and has been widely used as a lipid-lowering drug. The mechanism for this is through a high degree of competitive inhibition of the rate-limiting enzyme HMG-CoA reductase (HMGR) in the cholesterol synthesis pathway. In addition to lowering blood lipid levels, MK also prevents colon cancer, acute myeloid leukemia and neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease and type I neurofibromatosis. The aim of this manuscript is to comprehensively review the progress in the study of the biological activity of MK and its imechanism of action in reducing blood lipid concentration, prevention of cancer and its neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. This review provides a reference for future applications of MK in functional foods and medicine.