Effect of polysaccharide from Auricularia auricula on blood lipid metabolism and lipoprotein lipase activity of ICR mice fed a cholesterol-enriched diet

Polysaccharides from Auricularia auricula (AAP) extracted in hot water and precipitated by ethanol were chemically well defined, including 42.5% total carbohydrate, 1.9.6% uronic acids, 15.8% sulfate groups, 1.7% N, and 20.3% ash. Gas chromatography analysis demonstrated that the neutral sugars were mainly composed of rhamnose, xylose, and glucose and smaller amounts of mannose, galactose, and arabinose. The present study was designed to investigate the antioxidant capacity of AAP on blood lipid metabolism and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity in ICR mice fed cholesterol-enriched diet (CED) for the 1st time. Furthermore, the relationship between the atherosclerotic index (AI) and LPL activity to total antioxidant capacity (TAC) was studied. Thirty-six ICR mice were randomly assigned to 3 groups (n = 12). The mice in control group (NG) received regular diet and the mice in model group (MG) received CED; these 2 groups were provided with distilled water by oral gavage. The experimental group (EG) was fed CED with oral gavage of AAP (120 mg/kg/d body weight) for an 8-wk period. After 2, 4, 6, and 8 wk, total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglyceride (TG) levels of the serum were determined by enzymatic methods. The results indicated that the polysaccharides significantly lowered the concentrations of serum TC and LDL-C compared with the CED control group (P < 0.05). Moreover, oral administration of polysaccharides significantly improved TAC, LPL activity, and decreased MDA level, as well as AI. These conclusions revealed the beneficial effects of AAP on the preventive actions against hypercholesterolemia.