Dietary Cholestin (Red Yeast Extract) Reduces Toxicity of Oxidized Cholesterol in Rats
YEN-HUNG YEH1*, YA-TING LEE2, HUNG-SHENG HSIEH3 AND DENG-FWU HWANG4
1. Department of Nutritional Science, Toko University, Chia-Yi, Taiwan, R.O.C.
2. Department of Beauty Science, Chienkuo Technology University, Changhua, Taiwan, R.O.C.
3. Department of Health and Nutrition Biotechnology, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan, R.O.C.
4. Department of Food Science, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan, R.O.C.
(Received: January 20, 2009; Accepted: March 23, 2010)
ABSTRACT
This study focused on the effects of dietary cholestin (red yeast extract) on the toxicity of oxidized cholesterol in rats. The rats were divided into eight groups and fed with or without supplement of 1% cholestin and 3% oxidized cholesterol in their diets for 8 weeks. It was found that cholestin could improve the body weight decrease and the glutathione (GSH) level in the liver, and increase of liver and kidney weight to body weight ratio, and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) level in the liver of rats caused by oxidized cholesterol (P < 0.05). It also reduced the plasma content of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), indicating that cholestin could prevent the hepatotoxicity induced by oxidized cholesterol (P < 0.05). In addition, cholestin possessed recovering effect and a short-term preventing effect on the toxicity of oxidized cholesterol in rats. Taking all these data together, cholestin may play an important role in diminishing the toxic effects of oxidized cholesterol in rats.
Key words: cholestin, oxidized cholesterol, toxic effect, rats, liver function