J Nutr Health.  2017 Jun;50(3):225-235. 10.4163/jnh.2017.50.3.225.

Inhibitory effects of persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thumb.) against diet-induced hypertriglyceridemia/hypercholesterolemia in rats

• Ahn Y
• Gebereamanuel MR
• Oh EK
• Kwon O

• KMID: 2386624
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4163/jnh.2017.50.3.225

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study aimed to investigate the potential of freeze-dried persimmon powder (Diospyros kaki Thumb.) to protect against dyslipidemia induced by a high-fat/cholesterol diet (HFD) in a rat model.
METHODS
Fifty Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups: normal control (NC), high-fat/cholesterol control (HC), tannin in HFD (HT, 1% of diet), immature persimmon in HFD (HI, 7% of diet), and mature persimmon in HFD (HM, 7% of diet). Tannin was used as a positive control. Biochemical, molecular, and histopathological changes were observed in the blood and liver.
RESULTS
We confirmed that a high fat/cholesterol diet successfully induced dyslipidemia, which was characterized by significantly altered lipid profiles in the plasma and liver. However, oxidized low-density lipoprotein levels, histopathological damage in the liver, and hepatic triglyceride levels were significantly reduced in all HT, HI, and HM groups compared to those in the HF group. In contrast, plasma apolipoprotein B level was significantly reduced only in the HT and HM groups, whereas reduction of the LDL-C level was detected only in the HI group. Although HF-induced sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP) gene expression was significantly reduced in all treated groups, downstream gene expression levels varied among the different groups; significant reduction of fatty acid synthase (FAS) and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMGCR) gene expression was detected only in the HI group, whereas cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) gene expression was significantly elevated only in the HM group.
CONCLUSION
Taken together, the data suggest that protection of LDL oxidation and hepatic lipogenesis might be, at least partly, attributed to tannin in persimmons. However, the identified mechanisms varied up to the maturation stage of persimmon. In the case of immature persimmon, modulation of FAS and HMGCR gene expression was prominent, whereas in the case of mature persimmon, modulation of CYP7A1 gene expression was prominent.

Keyword

Diospyros; dyslipidemias; rats

MeSH Terms

Animals
Apolipoproteins
Cholesterol
Diet
Diospyros*
Dyslipidemias
Gene Expression
Lipogenesis
Lipoproteins
Liver
Models, Animal
Plasma
Rats*
Rats, Wistar
Triglycerides
Apolipoproteins
Cholesterol
Lipoproteins

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Effects of immature and mature persimmon on food intakes and body weight changes in rats fed a high-fat/cholesterol diet: (A) food intakes and (B) total body weight gain. NC; normal control, HF; high-fat/cholesterol control, HT; high-fat/cholesterol diet with 1% tannin, HI; high-fat/cholesterol diet with 7% immature persimmon, HM; high-fat/cholesterol diet with 7% mature persimmon. Values are expressed as means ± SE (n = 10 for each group). Means with different letters at each panel are significantly different from each other at p < 0.05 by Duncan's multiple range test.

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  Fig. 2. Effects of immature and mature persimmon on plasma lipid profiles in rats fed a high-fat/cholesterol diet: (A) lipids (total cholesterol and triglycerides), (B) lipoproteins (VLDL, HDL, and LDL), (C) ox-LDL, and (D) apo-lipoproteins (Apo A and Apo B). NC; normal control, HF; high-fat/cholesterol control, HT; high-fat/cholesterol diet with 1% tannin, HI; high-fat/cholesterol diet with 7% immature persimmon, HM; high-fat/cholesterol diet with 7% mature persimmon. Values are expressed as means ± SE (n = 10 for each group). Means with different letters at each panel are significantly different form each other at p < 0.05 by Duncan's multiple range test.

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  Fig. 3. Effects of immature and mature persimmon on hepatic histopathology and total lipid content in in rats fed a high-fat/cholesterol diet: (A) hepatic histopathology by H&E staining and (B) total lipid content. NC; normal control, HF; high-fat/cholesterol control, HT; high-fat/cholesterol diet with 1% tannin, HI; high-fat/cholesterol diet with 7% immature persimmon, HM; high-fat/cholesterol diet with 7% mature persimmon. Values are expressed as Means SE (n = 10 for each group). Means with different letters on the bar are significantly different form each other at p < 0.05 by Duncan's multiple range test.

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  Fig. 4. Effects of immature and mature persimmon on hepatic triglyceride metabolism in rats fed a high-fat/cholesterol diet: (A) triglycerides and (B) mRNA expressions of SREBP-1c, FAS, and ACC-1 genes. The mRNA expression were normalized to an internal control (GAPDH). NC; normal control, HF; high-fat/cholesterol control, HT; high-fat/cholesterol diet with 1% tannin, HI; high-fat/cholesterol diet with 7% immature persimmon, HM; high-fat/cholesterol diet with 7% mature persimmon. Values are expressed as Means SE (n = 10 for each group). Means with different letters on the bar are significantly different form each other at p < 0.05 by Duncan's multiple range test.

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  Fig. 5. Effects of immature and mature persimmon on hepatic cholesterol metabolism regulation in rats fed a high-fat/cholesterol diet: (A) total cholesterol and (B) mRNA expressions of SREBP-2, LDLR, HMGCR, ABCG8, and CYP7A1. The mRNA expressions were normalized to an internal control (GAPDH). NC; normal control, HF; high fat/cholesterol control, HT; high fat/cholesterol diet with 1% tannin, HI; high fat/cholesterol diet with 7% immature persimmon, HM; high fat/cholesterol diet with 7% mature persimmon. Values are expressed as Means SE (n = 10 for each group). Means with different letters on the bar are significantly different form each other at p < 0.05 by Duncan's multiple range test.

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  Fig. 6. Proposed mechanism of immature and mature persimmon on dyslipidemia in rats fed a high-fat/cholesterol diet. VLDL; very low-density lipoprotein, LDL; low-density lipoprotein, HDL; high-density lipoprotein, IDL; intermediate–density lipoprotein, FA; fatty acid, Cho; cholesterol, TG; triglyceride, BA; bile acid, SREBP-1c; sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c, SREBP-2; sterol regulatory element-binding protein-2, HMGCR; 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase, LDLR; low density lipoprotein receptor, ABCG8; ATP binding cassette subfamily G member 8, CYP7A1; cytochrome P450 family 7 subfamily A member 1, FAS; fatty acid synthase, ACC-1; Acetyl-CoA carboxylase

Reference

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