Effects of du-zhong leaf extract on serum and hepatic lipids in rats fed a high-fat diet.

We evaluated the effects of Du-Zhong leaf extract on the serum and liver lipids in rats fed a high-fat diet supplemented with animal fat, cholesterol and cholate. The Du-Zhong leaf extract suppressed significantly the high-fat diet-induced increases in total serum cholesterol, serum triacylglycerol and hepatic triacylglycerol but not the total hepatic cholesterol. The Du-Zhong leaf extract also suppressed the high-fat diet induced increases in very-low density lipoprotein and low density lipoprotein without affecting high density lipoprotein cholesterol. These results suggest that Du-Zhong leaf extract may be beneficial for the regulation of hyperlipidemia.