Erchen Decoction Ameliorates Lipid Metabolism by the Regulation of the Protein CAV-1 and the Receptors VLDLR, LDLR, ABCA1, and SRB1 in a High-Fat Diet Rat Model

Lipid metabolism disorder is a common metabolic disorder characterized by abnormal lipid levels in blood. Erchen decoction (ECD) is a traditional Chinese medicine prescription, which is used for the treatment of diseases caused by retention of phlegm dampness. It has been reported to ameliorate the disorder of lipid metabolism. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects and underlying mechanisms of ECD in lipid metabolism disorder induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) in rats. ECD (4.35g/kg/d) and atorvastatin (10mg/kg/d, positive control) were orally administered to HFD-fed rats for four weeks. The parameters, food, water consumption, body weight, body length, liver, and visceral fat weight and the content of serum lipids and lipid transporters were assessed. The effects of ECD on the mRNA and protein expression levels of lipid transport factors were measured by real-time PCR and western blotting. The present study demonstrated that ECD improved the disorders of serum lipid and lipid transporters in HFD-fed rats, TG (0.70 +/- 0.08 mmol/L, p<0.01), LDL-C (1.50 +/- 0.19 mmol/L, p<0.01), LDL (1.38 +/- 0.21 mmol/L, p<0.05), and oxLDL (1.77 +/- 0.39 ng/mL, p<0.05) were downregulated, while HDL-C (0.87 +/- 0.13 mmol/L, p<0.01), FFA (0.62 +/- 0.13 mmol/L, p<0.05), HDL (38.8 +/- 4.0 mg/dL, p<0.05), and CETP (903.6 +/- 120.0 ng/mL, p<0.05) were upregulated. But ECD obviously had no effects on the indices food/water/energy intake, body/tissue (liver and fat) weight, and BMI (p>0.05). Concomitantly, ECD reversed the abnormal expressions of those lipid transport factors in the liver and visceral fat.