Anti-hypercholesterolemic Effect of Berbamine Isolated from Rhizoma Coptidis in Hypercholesterolemic Zebrafish Induced by High-Cholesterol Diet

The anti-hypercholesterolemic effect of berbamine (bbm) isolated from rhizoma coptidis(rc) was investigated in hypercholesterolemic zebrafish model induced by high-cholesterol(hc) diet. zebrafish embryo assay revealed no significant difference in morphology and celldeath with the treatment of bbm less than 20 ìg/ml. in zebrafish larvae, the fluorescently labeled cholesterol in caudal artery was reduced dose-dependently after bbm treatment. for adult zebrafish, administration of 0.2% bbm exhibited a significant decrease in plasma total cholesterol (tc), triglyceride (tg) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (ldl-c) levels by 37%, 38% and 28%, respectively, along with a fall in lipid content in liver. further investigation suggested that the mrna expression of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme areductase (hmgcr) and microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (mtp) in liver were downregulated and the transcription levels of liver gene low-density lipoprotein receptor (ldlr) and cytochrome p450 polypeptide 1a of subfamily a of family 7 (cyp7a1a) were significantly up-regulated with bbm treatment. histological study showed that bbm can alleviate hepaticsteatosis induced by hc diet. these data suggested that bbm has anti-hypercholesterolemic and hepatoprotective effects. the mechanism probably related to the up-regulation of cholesterol transport and bile acid synthesis as well as inhibition of cholesterol synthesis and lipoprotein assembly or secretion.