Purification, characterization and anti-atherosclerotic effects of the polysaccharides from the fruiting body of Cordyceps militaris

Polysaccharide CM1 from Cordyceps militaris hinders adipocyte differentiation and alleviates hyperlipidemia in LDLR(+/−) hamsters

“…The water extracts or polysaccharides of the Cordyces species have anti-hyperlipidemic effects in mice [ 10 – 13 ]. However, the lipid profile in mice is distinct from humans [ 25 ].…”

“…A previous study already demonstrated that CM1 may improve HDL-mediated cholesterol efflux [ 17 ]. Recent studies also indicated that water-soluble components of Cordyceps species can lower hyperlipidemia [ 10 – 13 , 39 ]. This study suggested that CM1 is one of the water-soluble components with hypolipidemic effects.…”

“…Except for the regular chow (NC) group, LDLR (+/−) hamsters in the high-fat diet group (HFD), the ezetimibe group (25 mg/kg/d), and the CM1 group (CM1, 100 mg/kg/d) were fed a high-fat diet (0.15% cholesterol). The dosages of ezetimibe and CM1 were determined according to the available purified polysaccharide and the previous studies [ 4 , 10 , 21 ]. After 5 months, the hamsters were weighed and sampled under anesthesia after overnight fasting.…”

“…Blood was collected from each hamster using heparinized capillary tubes and centrifugated to obtain plasma. Total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) levels and LPL activity in the post-heparin plasma were assayed, and the lipid profiles of the lipoproteins were evaluated via the previous method [ 10 ].…”

“…This region of China also has a lower mortality of atherosclerotic CVD per 100,000 compared with that of North China (65.0 vs 121.2) [ 1 ]. Although there is no direct evidence that the fruiting body of C. militaris can decrease atherosclerotic CVD in humans, a significant amount of evidence in mice has demonstrated that the water extracts of Cordyceps species have various bioactivities, including anti-hyperlipidemia and anti-atherosclerosis effects [ 8 – 10 ]. Based on the available data, the crude extracts rather than purified polysaccharides of Cordyceps species are generally used in the previous in vivo studies [ 11 – 14 ].…”