Another cholesterol abstract

[Guest guest]

Hi

I thought since you liked Kampo medicine that you'd enjoy this following abstract regarding treatment of hypercholesterolemia. All that talk about Merck's Lovastatin had people sending me off list inquiries.

All the Best,

Emmanuel Segmen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Antihypercholesterolemic action of a traditional Chinese medicine (Kampo medicine), Ogi-Keishi-Gomotsu-To-Ka-Kojin.

 

Biol Pharm Bull 1998 Dec;21(12):1311-6 (ISSN: 0918-6158)

 

Wu CZ; Inoue M; Ogihara Y Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya, Japan.

 

The effect of Ogi-Keishi-Gomotsu-To-Ka-Kojin (OKGK), a traditional Chinese herbal medicine (Kampo medicine), on cholesterol metabolism was studied in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Intake of OKGK at doses of 1.38 g/kg for 4 weeks significantly reduced total cholesterol levels in the serum and liver of hypercholesterolemia rats fed a cholesterol-enriched diet. OKGK suppressed cholesterol absorption through the intestine and stimulated excretion of cholesterol into feces as bile acids. Biochemical study indicated that OKGK treatment enhanced cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase activity the rate limiting enzyme of cholic acid synthesis, in the liver without any effect on the rate limiting enzyme of cholesterol synthesis, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase. Further, cholesterol-enriched diet containing cholic acid suppressed cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase activity, whereas OKGK administration reversed the suppression. In conclusion, these results supported the idea that OKGK may be an effective agent for treatment of patients with hypercholesterolemia.