Water Extracts of Immature <i>Rubus coreanus</i> Regulate Lipid Metabolism in Liver Cells

Abstract

Hyperlipidemia is a major contributor for atherosclerosis and hypolipidemic drugs such as statin are highly prescribed to treat elevated lipid level in plasma. Rubus coreanus, which is widely cultivated in south eastern Asia, have been reported to show significant cholesterol lowering action in hyperlipidemic subjects. Our objective was to determine the cellular effect of Rubus coreanus extract (RCE) on cholesterol biosynthesis in human hepatic cells (HepG2) and to elucidate the molecular mechanism by which it causes change in cholesterol metabolism. RCE treatment lowered cholesterol biosynthesis as well as secretion from HepG2 cells. This effect was associated with lowering the release of apolipoproteins from hepatic cells. RCE treatment also showed an increase in phosphorylation of foxhead box protein 01 (FoXo-1) and 5-adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), thus lowering expression of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and G6Pase, which might be a major pathway for cholesterol biosynthesis inhibition. Apart from this; RCE also lowered sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 (SREBP-1) expression in HepG2 cells, showing a long term regulation of cholesterol biosynthesis activity. These results indicate that one of the anti-hyperlipidemic actions of RCE is due to inhibition of cholesterol biosynthesis in hepatic cells and provides first documentation of a hypolipidemic bio-molecular action of Rubus coreanus.

Dietary Agents and Phytochemicals in the Prevention and Treatment of Experimental Ulcerative Colitis

“…[293031] The plants grow in Far East Asian countries, namely South Korea, Japan, and China. [32] The anthocyanin fraction of black raspberry has been found to be protective against esophageal and colorectal cancer. [31] Montrose and coworkers investigated the protective effects of freeze-dried black raspberry powder on dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)–induced UC in C57BL/6J mice and observed it to be effective in ameliorating the clinical conditions.…”

Multifaceted Effect of Rubus Occidentalis on Hyperglycemia and Hypercholesterolemia in Mice with Diet-Induced Metabolic Diseases

“…It has been used for nourishment and as traditional remedies, especially in the immature form, in Asian countries [6,8]. Numerous studies have reported that the active compounds present in this fruit include various antioxidants, such as flavonoids and organic acids, and have investigated its significant antitumor, anti-inflammatory, and lipid metabolism effects [9,10,11]. However, for commercial use, the quality of RO needs to be enhanced and this process has been achieved by using the black raspberry crop harvested from Gochang, Korea, the largest producer of black raspberry in Korea.…”

“…Through a series of studies, various factors such as the sampling period or extraction conditions were optimized to produce fruits with a high content of bioactive principles [12,13]. In fact, the effects of Rubus coreanus on individual symptoms, such as its antiobesity or cholesterol-lowering effects, have previously been identified [11,14,15], while other species, especially RO, are rarely studied regarding metabolic syndrome.…”

Rubus caesius L. leaves: Pharmacognostic analysis and the study of hypoglycemic activity

“…After characterizing the chemical compounds extracted from the leaves, we investigated whether the extracts exhibited antidiabetic properties in an alloxan-induced diabetes rat model. [1,4,7,8,10,[14][15][16]…”