rebaudioside a enhances ldl cholesterol uptake in hepg2 cells via suppression of hmgcr expression

Background: rebaudioside a is one of the major diterpene glycosides found in stevia had been reported to possess anti-hyperlipidemic effects. in this study, we explore the potential cholesterol-regulating mechanisms of rebaudioside a in the human hepatoma (hepg2) cell line in comparison with simvastatin. methods: cells were incubated with rebaudioside a at several concentrations (0-10 μm) to determine the cytotoxicity by the mtt assay. cells were treated with selected dosage (1 and 5 μm) in further experiments. total cellular lipid was extracted by bligh and dyer method and subjected to quantitative colorimetric assay. to illustrate the effect of rebaudioside a on cellular lipid droplets and low-density lipoprotein receptors, treated cells were subjected to immunofluorescence microscopy. finally, we investigated the expression of experimental gene patterns of cells in response to treatment. results: in this study, cytotoxicity of rebaudioside a was determined at 27.72 μm. treatment of cells with a higher concentration of rebaudioside a promotes better hepatocellular cholesterol internalization and ameliorates cholesterol-regulating genes such as hmgcr, ldlr, and acat2. conclusions: in conclusion, our data demonstrated that rebaudioside a is capable to regulate cholesterol levels in hepg2 cells. hence, we proposed that rebaudioside a offers a potential alternative to statins for atherosclerosis therapy.