| Summary: | 博士 === 台北醫學院 === 藥學研究所 === 89 === Many large prospective studies have shown that comsuming certain foods present medical potentials on the prevention of cardiovascular heart disease (CVD) patients, especially in lowering plasma cholesterol and triglycerides. Thus, the traditional food such as cholesterol lowering food -- Monascus anka in China, that produced the metabolites e.g. monacolins, which represent the inhibitory effect on cholesterol biosynthesis.
The proposed study was to investigate lipid lowering effects and safety of Monascus rice powder on rodents. First, the lipid metabolic improvement effect and the antioxidant status of Monascus rice powder were observed on rodents with high cholesterol diet. Results showed that Monascus rice powder could significantly prevent hyperlipidemia of rodents and lower serum lipid in rodents who already got hyperlipidemia. Furthermore, it can also decrease triglyceride to heap in liver. In other hands, Monascus rice powder could elevate serum total antioxidant status of hyperlipidemia rodents.
Moreover, the ICR mice were gavaged with Monascus rice powder, studied the effect of inner CoQ, and did acute toxicity evaluation. It is believed that after 30 minutes, mice gavaged Monascus rice powder had obviously lower heart and liver CoQ concentration. After 60 minutes, the liver CoQ concentration lowered to the limit and heart had the same effect after 90 minutes. The body weight and appearance were no significant differences after 2 weeks.
Thus, long term intake of Monascus rice powder and vitamin E can effectively lower serum cholesterol ratio, serum triglyceride, liver cholesterol and liver triglyceride of hamsters. Besides, the LA/AA ratio in LDL was also decreased. Monascus rice powder obviously decreased serum vitamin E, but vitamin E/LDL-cholesterol ratio and liver vitamin E increased. Monascus rice powder would decline internal CoQ concentration and vitamin E amount, but the antioxidant ability of body wouldn’t be damaged as a result of decreased cholesterol.
The final study was to evaluate the effect of internal lipid metabolism and antioxidant enzyme activity with combined intake of Monascus rice powder and soysterol. It showed that the cholesterol lowering effect became more efficient after combined intake of Monascus rice powder and soysterol. Monascus could also decrease fecal sterol and bile acid excretion, increase superoxide dismutase activity and no change on glutathione peroxidase.
In conclusion, Monascus rice powder has such functions as follows, (1) improve hyperlipidemia of rodents; (2) lower LDL LA/AA ratio and PUFA/MUFA ratio; (3) combined with soysterol can have much more efficient effect on decreasing serum cholesterol, triglycerides, and also liver cholesterol, triglycerides.
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