Effects of a Ethanol Precipitated Fraction of Kabosu (Citrus sphaerocarpa Hort.) Juice on Cholesterol Metabolism in Rats

Abstract

Using rat, we investigated the effects on cholesterol metabolism of an ethanol-precipitated fraction of Kabosu (Kabosu Juice Residue: KJR) obtained from 1l of Kabosu juice by adding 0.71l of ethanol. Male Sprague-Dawley strain rats, 4 weeks of age, were fed on a high cholesterol diet containing KJR. Serum and liver cholesterol levels decreased as the amount of administered KJR increased, and the excretion of fecal bile acids and neutral sterols was promoted. The secretion rate of cholesterol from the liver to the blood was lowered by the administration of KJR. From these results, promotion of the excretion of fecal bile acids and neutral sterols and depression of the secretion of cholesterol from the liver to the blood were considered to be the major mechanisms responsible for the cholesterol-lowering effect of KJR. The activity of the cholesterol-lowering effect of KJR was not weakened by administration of KJR which had been dry-heated or autoclaved.